StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on HES. UBS Group upped their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $145.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. Research analysts predict that Hess will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last ninety days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.4% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,553 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,065,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 2,920 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Hess by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,128 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Hess by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,333 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,999,000 after buying an additional 6,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.