Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 146,649 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,768,296 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 146,649 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,033,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted 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, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.47 and a 200 day moving average of $140.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio 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.