Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Short Interest Down 22.8% in October

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, a decrease of 22.8% from the October 15th total of 5,580,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $145.10 on Friday. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $136.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.18. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Hess during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other 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.