Hess (NYSE:HES) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $145.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Hess traded as low as $130.15 and last traded at $130.15, with a volume of 215376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.16.

HES has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Hess in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Hess by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 123,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Hess by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 100,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,464,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 136.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 690,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $99,546,000 after purchasing an additional 398,089 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Hess by 59.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Hess by 774.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 522,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,351,000 after buying an additional 462,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.23.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

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.