Empirical Finance LLC Has $1.28 Million Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,433 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Hess by 424.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $87,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,684 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 255.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 4,911 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Sunday, November 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

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.