Hess (NYSE:HES) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $148.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hess will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 2nd quarter worth $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Hess by 424.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,757 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hess by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $87,085,000 after acquiring an additional 15,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently 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.