Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 765 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after purchasing an additional 294,146 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $237,100,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,595,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $229,969,000 after purchasing an additional 48,457 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 909,089 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $138,763,000 after buying an additional 218,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,423,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES traded down $2.80 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $147.45. The company had a trading volume of 323,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,363,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.23. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $131.61 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The company has a market cap of $45.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.83 and a 200-day moving average of $149.53.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 11.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Hess’s payout ratio is 26.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Hess from $167.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho raised their target price on Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.58.

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.