Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $548,000 Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,117 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,396,000 after acquiring an additional 10,738 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Hess by 330.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 262,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,623,000 after purchasing an additional 201,349 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $23,765,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Hess by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Hess by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,693,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of HES opened at $135.42 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.86.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

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.