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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on HES. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $161.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 1.27. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,433,050.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last three months. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.