UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hess (NYSE:HES) Stock

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its target price increased by research analysts at UBS Group from $185.00 to $186.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 26.84% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $146.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.94.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HES. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $92,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Hess by 1.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $602,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 29,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 39.9% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hess

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.