Susquehanna Increases Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target to $154.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $149.00 to $154.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HES. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.42.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $139.41 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.48. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 507 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,412 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 198 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.