Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Hess Co. Reduced by Analyst (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Stock analysts at Capital One Financial cut their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Hess in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 17th. Capital One Financial analyst P. Johnston now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $2.45 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.94. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $11.04 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Hess’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.05 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $10.29 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.29 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.94 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.15 EPS.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HES. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Hess to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.31.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $134.40 on Friday. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $138.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.00. The company has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. SCP Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 2,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Hess by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 13,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 8,538 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 73,973 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.63%.

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.