Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) is Highbridge Capital Management LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Highbridge Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 579,445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 128,146 shares during the period. Hess comprises approximately 3.0% of Highbridge Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Highbridge Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Hess worth $77,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $244,483,000 after buying an additional 82,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $159.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.58. The stock has a market cap of $49.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.