Zacks Research Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Hess in a research note issued on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Kanoria now expects that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $2.00 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.99. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $8.32 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.97 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $10.07 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.89 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HES. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Hess Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $156.98 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hess has a 1 year low of $124.27 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 581.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,824 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $237,100,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $213,336,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 44.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,204 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.89%.

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.