Hess (NYSE:HES) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.32 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32, Zacks reports. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $145.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.18. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

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.