Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives $177.42 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.42.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Susquehanna raised 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.

Hess Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $163.13 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $50.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98 and a beta of 1.27. Hess has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have 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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Hess by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 129,977 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $18,737,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 1,456.8% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 7,022 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $967,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Hess by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 39,249 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 16,861 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.