Hess (NYSE:HES) Earns Peer Perform Rating from Analysts at Wolfe Research

Equities researchers at Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued on Thursday, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm set a “peer perform” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.67.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $154.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.17. Hess has a one year low of $131.61 and a one year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Hess will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,903,793,000 after purchasing an additional 294,146 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $237,100,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,595,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $229,969,000 after purchasing an additional 48,457 shares during the last quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd grew its stake in Hess by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd now owns 1,103,212 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $168,394,000 after purchasing an additional 337,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Hess by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 909,089 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $138,763,000 after purchasing an additional 218,563 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.