Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for Hess Q1 Earnings

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hess in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $1.60 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.62. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $9.51 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.06 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.92 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HES. Scotiabank increased their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research raised 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. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $151.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.55. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, 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 transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 441.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,293,000 after purchasing an additional 44,710 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 5,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently 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.