Paragon Capital Management Inc. Makes New $1.51 Million Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 11,373 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hess Stock Up 2.9 %

Hess stock opened at $142.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HES. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.