Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by TIAA Trust National Association

TIAA Trust National Association trimmed its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 582 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Hess by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 10.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 12.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after buying an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,287 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.3 %

HES opened at $160.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.45 and its 200-day moving average is $141.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.