GAMMA Investing LLC Buys Shares of 6,893 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $969,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 581.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,824 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 44.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,204 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 889,122 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Hess by 703.2% during the third 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 buying an additional 882,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Packer & Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $107,806,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 0.5 %

Hess stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $156.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,446,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,498. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.21 and its 200 day moving average is $146.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related 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 transaction of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was 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 owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.