SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 44,710 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 441.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,710 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $144.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.54. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HES. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

About Hess

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.