LGT Group Foundation Has $2.03 Million Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

LGT Group Foundation lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,790 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hess during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.46.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $128.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $39.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $125.89 and a 12 month high of $167.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.41 and a 200-day moving average of $148.09.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 11.12 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

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.