StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HES. UBS Group reduced their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $175.23.

Hess Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $150.55 on Friday. Hess has a 1-year low of $124.27 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $145.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,433,050.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.