Hess (NYSE:HES) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $142.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.17. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hess will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Hess by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.