Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,871 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $136.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.07. 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 (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value 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 $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Hess

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.