Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HES. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $130.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.14. The company has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 1.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.