Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued on Saturday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $130.58 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $140.08 and its 200 day moving average is $140.10. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 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. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 3.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,396,000 after purchasing an additional 10,738 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 330.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 262,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $35,623,000 after buying an additional 201,349 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter worth $23,765,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Hess by 4.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by 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.