Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target Cut to $191.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective lowered by Mizuho from $193.00 to $191.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on HES. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.16.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $135.70 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $139.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.40. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $161.69. The stock has a market cap of $41.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The business’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hess by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,811,508 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $449,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,488 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 116.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,071 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in Hess by 42.0% in the first quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 15,708 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 4,645 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 27.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 423,522 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $67,649,000 after purchasing an additional 90,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 4.1% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,204 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.