Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $170.60.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aurdan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Hess by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 40,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,356,000 after acquiring an additional 11,069 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $7,727,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $1,330,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $147.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.17. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, equities analysts expect that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.