Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Purchases 1,250 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 83.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SCP Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 2,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Hess by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 13,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 8,538 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Hess by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 22,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $128.57 on Monday. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HES. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Hess to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.00.

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.