Kercheville Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kercheville Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,390 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,810 shares during the quarter. Hess comprises approximately 1.3% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after acquiring an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Hess by 76.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $227,273,000 after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Hess by 64.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,220,000 after purchasing an additional 567,550 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Hess by 45.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $264,664,000 after purchasing an additional 561,832 shares during the period. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 188.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $112,933,000 after buying an additional 500,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.3 %

HES opened at $138.02 on Monday. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.58.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 30.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HES. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.00.

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.