Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Estimate for Hess Earnings

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Hess in a report issued on Tuesday, January 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will earn $1.60 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.62. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $9.74 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.06 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.92 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $148.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.41. The company has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 1.18.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last ninety days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.