Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on HES. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Hess Trading Down 0.5 %

Hess stock opened at $146.16 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Hess will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,955 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 300.4% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 9,986 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 7,492 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at approximately $933,000. Carlson Capital L P grew its stake in shares of Hess by 15.6% in the first quarter. Carlson Capital L P now owns 633,767 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $96,738,000 after acquiring an additional 85,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP increased its position in Hess by 337.0% during the first quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 24,318 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 34,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.