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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note released on Friday. The firm issued a sell rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on HES. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $159.40 on Friday. Hess has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $49.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 1.24.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Hess by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 482 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hess by 8.8% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,077 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Hess by 29.0% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Hess by 114.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 229,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $35,139,000 after buying an additional 122,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.