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

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on HES shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value 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 $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HBK Investments L P lifted its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 2.2 %

HES stock opened at $145.39 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $141.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.47. The company has a market capitalization of $44.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 1.18. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

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.