Zacks Research Equities Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Hess in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Kanoria now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will earn $2.00 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.99. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $8.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.97 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $10.07 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.89 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HES. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $161.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $151.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.20. Hess has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HES. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Hess by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 129,977 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $18,737,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,407,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 1,456.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 7,022 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $967,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Hess by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 39,249 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 16,861 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

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.