Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Sells 500 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC reduced its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,122 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P grew its position in Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at $75,126,000. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in Hess by 267.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $72,417,000 after purchasing an additional 388,273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $144.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.18. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.02 and a 200-day moving average of $139.53.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

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.