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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HES. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $141.76 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hess will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value 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 $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 14,844 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,225,000. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in Hess by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 18,761 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 8,016 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,165,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.