Readystate Asset Management LP Purchases New Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 144,032 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $20,764,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,832,380 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,588,956,000 after acquiring an additional 322,773 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Hess by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,191,928,000 after acquiring an additional 303,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 1.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,728,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $756,386,000 after acquiring an additional 93,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in Hess by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,752,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $675,191,000 after acquiring an additional 29,333 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.80. 1,278,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,592. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.60 and its 200-day moving average is $146.76.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.89%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hess from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.67.

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.