Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted 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. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $130.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.08 and a 200-day moving average of $140.14. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,054,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Hess in the third quarter worth approximately $1,052,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Hess by 295.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 84,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 62,966 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 13.8% during the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 253,589 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $34,437,000 after acquiring an additional 30,675 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.