Whittier Trust Co. Sells 1,381 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,381 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P increased its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth about $75,126,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.78. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

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, 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. 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.