Anson Funds Management LP Purchases 83,629 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Anson Funds Management LP boosted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 311,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,629 shares during the period. Hess comprises about 1.9% of Anson Funds Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Anson Funds Management LP’s holdings in Hess were worth $42,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 0.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $141.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last quarter. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.30.

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.