Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 30,283 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,436% compared to the average daily volume of 1,972 put options.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after buying an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Hess by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,521,499,000 after acquiring an additional 698,866 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P increased its stake in Hess by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $962,715,000 after acquiring an additional 120,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded down $1.42 on Thursday, hitting $159.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,169,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,735. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.46. The company has a market capitalization of $49.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.21. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.