Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.94.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James dropped their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hess from $161.00 to $169.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Hess from $168.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $168.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.91, for a total value of $3,815,894.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares in the company, valued at $17,835,959.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 33,414 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.33, for a total value of $5,056,540.62. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 82,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,550,099.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.91, for a total value of $3,815,894.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,835,959.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth approximately $253,540,000. BOKF NA increased its position in Hess by 20.7% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 34,301 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,663,000 after buying an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Hess by 4.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 519,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,586,000 after buying an additional 21,298 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Hess by 7.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 12,421 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 23.1% in the second quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.72% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $160.52 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.70. The company has a market capitalization of $49.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 1.58. Hess has a 1-year low of $100.34 and a 1-year high of $161.64.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Hess had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hess will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.52%.

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.