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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $141.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.41 and its 200-day moving average is $139.05.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Hess by 47.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,333 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,751 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 56,302 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Hess by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,221 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,998 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.