Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $170.50.

HES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $145.12 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.98 and a 200 day moving average of $139.39. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth about $6,054,000. Czech National Bank raised 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 buying an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,052,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 295.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 84,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 62,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.