US Bancorp DE Sells 524 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,499 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 524 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after acquiring an additional 294,146 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Hess by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hess by 11.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,359,000 after buying an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $142.57 on Thursday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.48 and a 200-day moving average of $143.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.00.

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.