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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Sunday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HES. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $142.82 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.