Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued on Thursday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $162.53 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.37 and a 200 day moving average of $147.26. Hess has a 12 month low of $124.27 and a 12 month high of $167.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.