Korea Investment CORP Increases Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,180 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,007 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of Hess worth $38,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 19.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,038,000 after buying an additional 4,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $298,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hess Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE HES opened at $159.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.58.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.