500 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Bought by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $47,056,000. Vestcor Inc grew its stake in shares of Hess by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 139,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $18,608,000 after acquiring an additional 32,995 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 1.6 %

HES stock opened at $152.81 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $145.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $47.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

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.