Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report issued on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on HES. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE HES opened at $130.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.10. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the second quarter worth about $6,054,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,052,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 295.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP raised its position in Hess by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 253,589 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,437,000 after purchasing an additional 30,675 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.