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

Analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.92.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $136.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.89 and a 200-day moving average of $145.52.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Hess’s revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hess will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Hess by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 507 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Hess by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.