Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 381 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Hess by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,126,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,056,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $42,158,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $158.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.78 and a 200-day moving average of $142.00. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 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, equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.