Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Hess Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $136.39 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.81. The company has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 1.17. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 6.8% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,007 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,771,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 14,247 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 12.0% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.