Hess (NYSE:HES) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Outperform”

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $150.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $165.15.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $135.80 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.47. Hess has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 10.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hess by 1.4% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hess by 1.6% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 507 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 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.