Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Cuts Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,367 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,153 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $19,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter worth $92,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in Hess by 1.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the third quarter valued at about $602,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 29,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Hess by 39.9% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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 research report on Thursday. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $146.65 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.34 and a 200 day moving average of $138.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.