Samson Rock Capital LLP Purchases 21,850 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Samson Rock Capital LLP raised its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 640,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares during the quarter. Hess makes up about 65.5% of Samson Rock Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Samson Rock Capital LLP owned 0.21% of Hess worth $85,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,126,000. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Hess by 267.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $72,417,000 after purchasing an additional 388,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HES. Susquehanna upped their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $142.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

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.