Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Short Interest Update

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) saw a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, a decrease of 22.8% from the October 15th total of 5,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week 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 50 day moving average price of $136.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.97.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Hess by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Hess by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.