Fruth Investment Management Reduces Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Fruth Investment Management decreased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Hess were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Hess by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,333 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after buying an additional 6,508 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,751 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Hess by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 56,302 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Hess by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,221 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Hess by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,998 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $142.75 on Thursday. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $140.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HES. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

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.