Hess (NYSE:HES) Given New $167.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $192.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $174.00.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $128.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.50. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business’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 firm posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Hess will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. SCP Investment LP increased its position in shares of Hess by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 2,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Hess by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 13,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 8,538 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in shares of Hess by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 22,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Hess by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.