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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report published on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HES. UBS Group increased their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $148.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $141.28 and a 200-day moving average of $139.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aurdan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Hess by 37.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,727,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $1,330,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.