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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of several other research reports. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of HES opened at $149.04 on Friday. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.65 and a 200 day moving average of $139.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, research analysts expect that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. HBK Investments L P grew its position in Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hess by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP grew its position in Hess by 154.1% during the 4th quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $183,697,000 after purchasing an additional 837,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Hess by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. 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.