Key Financial Inc Reduces Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Key Financial Inc decreased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 22.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 408 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Hess were worth $194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Hess by 34.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 76.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,273,000 after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Hess by 64.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,220,000 after purchasing an additional 567,550 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Hess by 45.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $264,664,000 after purchasing an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP grew its position in Hess by 188.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $112,933,000 after purchasing an additional 500,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HES. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.00.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded up $3.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $137.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,542,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,565. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $135.31 and its 200 day moving average is $144.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

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.