UBS Group Raises Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target to $185.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on HES. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.50.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $144.75 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.93. Hess has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction 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 $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. 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. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Hess by 4.4% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P lifted its position in Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares during the period. 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.