Hess (NYSE:HES) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $138.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.18. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.47.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Hess by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,553 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,065,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Hess by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,128 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 47.1% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 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.