UBS Group Trims Hess (NYSE:HES) Target Price to $173.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $192.00 to $173.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Hess to an overweight rating and cut their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $171.31.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $134.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.00. Hess has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hess will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. 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 yield of 1.49%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 123,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Hess by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 100,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,464,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 136.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 690,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $99,546,000 after purchasing an additional 398,089 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Hess by 774.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 522,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $75,351,000 after purchasing an additional 462,953 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.