BMO Capital Markets Lowers Hess (NYSE:HES) to Overweight

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday morning. The firm currently has $160.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $175.00.

HES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Hess from $166.00 to $151.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $212.00 to $193.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $175.77.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $136.30 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.43 and a 200 day moving average of $149.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87 and a beta of 1.16. Hess has a 12 month low of $130.35 and a 12 month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Hess by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 123,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Hess by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 100,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,464,000 after buying an additional 12,649 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $237,100,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Hess by 136.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 690,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $99,546,000 after buying an additional 398,089 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Company 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.