Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Hess by 157.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Trading Up 0.5 %

HES stock opened at $146.65 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $140.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.94. The firm has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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