Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Cuts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY cut its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 55.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 41,551 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Hess were worth $4,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 6.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Hess by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE HES opened at $142.99 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.23 and its 200 day moving average is $139.02. The stock has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.17.

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%. Research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 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.