StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report report published on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HES. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $177.83.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $148.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.94. Hess has a 52-week low of $129.12 and a 52-week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hess will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 23.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Hess by 424.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth $36,936,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by 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.