Hess (NYSE:HES) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts also recently commented on HES. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $133.89 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.37 and its 200 day moving average is $142.74. 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 company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth $298,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,474 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $294,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in Hess by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 12.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,648 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. 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.