Hess Co. to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $1.74 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for Hess in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Kanoria now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $1.74 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.71. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $8.32 per share.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HES. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

HES opened at $159.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.10. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 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.