Hess (NYSE:HES) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HES. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $141.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.56. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 0.6% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.