Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,514 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,514 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Qtron Investments LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $346,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 89,093 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,850,000 after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Hess by 169.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 706 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 122,866 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,342,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $130.56 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.26.

Hess 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.