StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HES. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $135.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.57 and a 200-day moving average of $139.68. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Hess by 22.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is 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.