Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $144.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.21. 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 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.56 and a 200 day moving average of $140.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 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.