Hess (NYSE:HES) Upgraded to Buy by Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Argus currently has $171.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on HES. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Susquehanna reissued a neutral rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $197.00) on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hess from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price target for the company from $189.00 to $166.00 in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $153.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $173.06.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $143.03 on Tuesday. Hess has a 1 year low of $113.82 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.48 and a 200-day moving average of $145.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 1.53.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Hess’s quarterly revenue was down 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.72%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.91, for a total transaction of $3,815,894.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,835,959.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. IMA Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 81.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.