Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $85.36 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 628,552 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 816 shares during the period. Hess accounts for about 1.6% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.20% of Hess worth $85,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Hess during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $142.46. The company had a trading volume of 50,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,113,912. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.78.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.00.

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.