Hess (NYSE:HES) Given New $151.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $171.00 to $151.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 13.48% from the stock’s previous close.

HES has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Hess to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.77.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded up $2.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 339,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,211,025. 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’s 50-day moving average is $136.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.69. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $41.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hess will post 10.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hess by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after acquiring an additional 294,146 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Hess by 4.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hess by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,359,000 after purchasing an additional 181,459 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.