Hess (NYSE:HES) Given New $154.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price target lifted by Susquehanna from $149.00 to $154.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.00.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $139.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hess will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Hess by 100.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,367,000 after purchasing an additional 49,267 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 60.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter valued at $720,000. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the third quarter worth $319,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.