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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of several other research reports. 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. Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $138.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.47. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.85%. On average, analysts expect that Hess will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.