Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock Position Decreased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $13,550,000. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 118,256 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,048,000 after acquiring an additional 48,686 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,050 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $295,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $137.48. 147,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,303,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 1.16. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $130.35 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.02.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Hess from $166.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Hess to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.77.

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.