Hess (NYSE:HES) PT Raised to $167.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price target boosted by Scotiabank from $157.00 to $167.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HES. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hess from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $165.92.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $140.28. The stock had a trading volume of 201,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,872. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $134.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hess will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the second quarter worth $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 59.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth $6,967,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Hess by 424.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 2.7% in the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,085,000 after acquiring an additional 15,684 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.