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

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $151.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.44. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True North Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $323,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 441.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,293,000 after acquiring an additional 44,710 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 5,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. 88.51% 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.