Cibc World Markets Corp Buys 86,042 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 229.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 123,619 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,042 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Hess were worth $16,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of HES opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.32.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Hess Company 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.