Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Short Interest Update

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,730,000 shares, an increase of 17.4% from the November 15th total of 4,880,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HES traded down $3.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $136.44. The stock had a trading volume of 385,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,351. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. 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 company has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $141.65 and its 200-day moving average is $141.35.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P boosted its position in Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% during 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 buying an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.