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

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $130.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 1.17. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $139.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.01. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Activity at Hess

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

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.