Hess (NYSE:HES) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $146.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.34. The company has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, 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 value of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Hess by 59.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Hess by 424.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,757 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 2.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 15,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 255.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.