Hess Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 9,770 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 82% compared to the average daily volume of 5,371 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,457,302.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HES. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 6.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hess by 8.8% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,077 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,403,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.5% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,175 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded down $1.06 on Wednesday, hitting $157.43. The stock had a trading volume of 601,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,779. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.88 and a 200-day moving average of $146.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 1.24. Hess has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hess will post 9.17 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.80%.

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.