Hess (NYSE:HES) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.32 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32, Zacks reports. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.85%.

Hess Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $6.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.48. The stock had a trading volume of 366,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,946,730. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $140.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.47. The firm has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 1.18. Hess has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.