Hess (NYSE:HES) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,159,304 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 1,976,666 shares.The stock last traded at $146.30 and had previously closed at $147.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hess from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $171.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.19.

Hess Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $154.86 and its 200 day moving average is $145.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18 and a beta of 1.53.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.40. Hess had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 33.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,835,959.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. IMA Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 81.72% 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.