Sapient Capital LLC Purchases 199 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,867 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HES. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $146.91 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $45.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.21 and its 200 day moving average is $138.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.