Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 369 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HES. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Hess by 39.7% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,955 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,968 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Hess by 360.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 369,016 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,327,000 after purchasing an additional 288,895 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Hess by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 21,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 10.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 112,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,146,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter valued at $325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $148.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess 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.