Susquehanna Raises Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target to $164.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective boosted by Susquehanna from $156.00 to $164.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Piper Sandler raised 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. Finally, Mizuho raised 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $159.13 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Hess has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $275,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Hess by 139.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 14,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $130,000. Hedge funds and other 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.