Hess (NYSE:HES) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $128.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $140.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.74. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 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.