Hess (NYSE:HES) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued on Tuesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HES. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:HES opened at $151.33 on Tuesday. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.66 and a 200-day moving average of $139.44.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 157.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.