Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 65.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 619 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Hess were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 581.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $358,374,000 after buying an additional 1,998,824 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 44.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after buying an additional 1,105,204 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Hess by 703.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,007,485 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $154,146,000 after purchasing an additional 882,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,806,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Up 1.5 %

Hess stock opened at $161.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $124.27 and a 1-year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,433,050.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.42.

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.