Xponance Inc. Cuts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Xponance Inc. decreased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $6,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $156.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.54.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HES. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.