Hess (NYSE:HES) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.46.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $129.05 on Monday. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $161.69. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $140.72 and a 200-day moving average of $141.52. 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 (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Hess in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.