Captrust Financial Advisors Lowers Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Captrust Financial Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,745 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Hess were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HES. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

HES opened at $142.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.62. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HES. 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 research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho cut their target price 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, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 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.