BCK Capital Management LP Makes New $1.23 Million Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

BCK Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,225,000. Hess comprises about 1.2% of BCK Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HES. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’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 transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $159.40. 3,500,940 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,654,481. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $49.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.02.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

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.