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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note released on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HES. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $128.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $140.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.80. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week 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.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Hess by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Hess by 0.6% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 4.7% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.