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

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.50.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased 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. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $147.26 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $140.72 and a 200-day moving average of $141.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.