Hess (NYSE:HES) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report published on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HES. UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Down 0.4 %

HES stock opened at $158.48 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.78 and its 200 day moving average is $141.79. The stock has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Hess by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 10.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 12.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,038,000 after buying an additional 4,287 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.