Uniting Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000. Hess makes up about 0.5% of Uniting Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $160.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. 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 50-day moving average of $148.51 and a 200-day moving average of $142.58.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.