StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Up 1.2 %

Hess stock opened at $146.59 on Monday. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.21 and a 200-day moving average of $139.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.18.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P grew its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 76.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $227,273,000 after buying an additional 663,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 64.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,220,000 after buying an additional 567,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

About Hess

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.