Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $164.46.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Sunday, April 27th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,396,000 after buying an additional 10,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $132.33 on Friday. Hess has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $161.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.71.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Hess’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Analysts expect that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

About Hess

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.