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

Analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six 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 a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $144.34 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $44.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Hess by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,521,499,000 after purchasing an additional 698,866 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P grew its stake in Hess by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $962,715,000 after purchasing an additional 120,091 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.