Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $530,000 Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,982 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Hess by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.47 and its 200-day moving average is $140.32.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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