Intact Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 45,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,039,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position 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 period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $143.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.12. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.