Insider Selling: Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) SVP Sells 6,000 Shares of Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $140.79 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $135.73 and its 200 day moving average is $143.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.15.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 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.