Hess (NYSE:HES) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.43 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $162.53. 1,932,985 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,566,094. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05. Hess has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.20.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.