StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

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

HES has been the subject of a number of other reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $140.20 on Thursday. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.65 and a 200-day moving average of $141.56.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,867 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 3.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 255.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 4,911 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 733.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Hess by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 669,137 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $98,711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.