Wall Street Zen Initiates Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Stock analysts at Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of several other research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.16.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $129.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $138.03 and a 200-day moving average of $141.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Hess’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Hess by 8.4% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Hess by 0.4% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,073 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in 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.