Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,595,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,457 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.52% of Hess worth $229,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $157.66 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.99. The firm has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.24. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.42.

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.