StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a report released on Monday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $145.64 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.87. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P increased its stake in Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $884,709,000 after acquiring an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.