Brokerages Set Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Target Price at $170.50

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $170.50.

HES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Hess by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hess by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,396,000 after buying an additional 10,738 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Hess by 330.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 262,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,623,000 after buying an additional 201,349 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $23,765,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $136.39 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.81. The company has a market cap of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 1.17. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.