Point72 Europe London LLP Makes New Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 22,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P raised its holdings in Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after buying an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 34.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after buying an additional 726,631 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,691,000 after acquiring an additional 150,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 in the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $147.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $140.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HES. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

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.