Golden State Wealth Management LLC Makes New $74,000 Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 556 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of HES opened at $145.76 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.91. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HES. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased 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. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

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.