Q4 EPS Estimates for Hess Boosted by Capital One Financial

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Stock analysts at Capital One Financial boosted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Hess in a report released on Wednesday, January 8th. Capital One Financial analyst P. Johnston now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $1.60 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.59. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $9.74 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Hess’ Q1 2025 earnings at $1.79 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.58 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.86 EPS.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on HES. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $144.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $140.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.42. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.18.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last three months. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 214.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,578 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 8,583 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth about $80,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth about $599,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Hess by 9.7% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 14,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 23.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,351 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,030,000 after acquiring an additional 52,121 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.