Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,993 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 261 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Hess were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,235 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,558,000 after buying an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted 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. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $147.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $141.02 and a 200 day moving average of $139.12. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.