John B. Hess Sells 175,000 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HES opened at $158.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.78 and a 200 day moving average of $141.89.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.