Hess (NYSE:HES) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note published on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HES. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.30.

Hess Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $141.53 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $141.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.93. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Hess during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.