PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 1,740 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $9,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third 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. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $144.34 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $44.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.