Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.7778.

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hess from $147.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $146.58 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th.

Hess Trading Up 7.6%

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $160.31 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.09 and its 200 day moving average is $143.22. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $34,002,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,734,679 shares in the company, valued at $235,933,690.79. This represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 317.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 188 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 367.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.