Hess (NYSE:HES) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.43 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43, Briefing.com reports. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

HES stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $162.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,932,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,563,011. Hess has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.20.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

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.