Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target Raised to $153.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective upped by Piper Sandler from $147.00 to $153.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.86.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $142.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.02. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 17.65%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $34,002,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,734,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,933,690.79. This represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 106.2% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 367.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors 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.