Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives $170.60 Average PT from Brokerages

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.60.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in Hess by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $127.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $39.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.57.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.