Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Short Interest Update

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the October 15th total of 5,580,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on HES shares. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Sunday, November 10th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $136.80 and a 200 day moving average of $142.97.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. 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.