Modera Wealth Management LLC Invests $213,000 in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $998,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Hess by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,165 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 1.8 %

Hess stock opened at $134.63 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $135.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company 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 a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.00.

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.