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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note published on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $158.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.79. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after buying an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Hess by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,521,499,000 after acquiring an additional 698,866 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in Hess by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $962,715,000 after acquiring an additional 120,091 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.