AIA Group Ltd Buys 479 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES – Get Rating) by 28.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,187 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Hess were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. City State Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 78.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. now owns 445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 82.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $102.89 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $61.93 and a 1 year high of $131.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.01. Hess had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 87.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 15th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 14th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Hess’s payout ratio is 31.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hess from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $126.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, June 24th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $112.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $158.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.92.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 36,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.29, for a total value of $4,651,795.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 95,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,267,602.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.93% of the company’s stock.

About Hess

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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.