Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Holdings Cut by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,755 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Hess were worth $18,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HES. 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 note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Hess Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $147.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.