Perigon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 158.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $145.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.93 and a 200-day moving average of $139.43.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.