Analysts Issue Forecasts for Hess’ Q4 Earnings (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hess in a report issued on Wednesday, December 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $1.85 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.84. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $9.74 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.88 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.86 EPS.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on HES. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $134.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.11. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.