Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess Sells 175,000 Shares

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $158.48 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.79. The company has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.