CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Reduces Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lowered its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 945 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Hess were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth approximately $6,054,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $1,052,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 295.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 84,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 62,966 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP raised its position in Hess by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 253,589 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $34,437,000 after purchasing an additional 30,675 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 1.6 %

Hess stock opened at $144.74 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $140.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.42. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on HES. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

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.