Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives $171.31 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $168.08.

Several research firms have issued reports on HES. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $130.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.12 and a 200-day moving average of $146.80.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the first 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 period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Hess by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after buying an additional 340,490 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after acquiring an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after acquiring an additional 150,945 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 11.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,359,000 after acquiring an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.