Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.30.

Several research analysts have commented on HES shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Sunday, November 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Hess Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $136.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Hess by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Hess by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.