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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note published on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on HES. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Up 0.1 %

HES stock opened at $130.71 on Friday. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $40.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.01.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,396,000 after purchasing an additional 10,738 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Hess by 330.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 262,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,623,000 after acquiring an additional 201,349 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $23,765,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.