Piper Sandler Increases Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target to $173.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $172.00 to $173.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HES. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Hess Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of HES opened at $154.35 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05. Hess has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Analysts predict that Hess will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.