Hess (NYSE:HES) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Hess Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:HES opened at $147.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.73.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.9% in the second 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. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Hess by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.