Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $164.46.

A number of research firms recently commented on HES. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at $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 position in Hess by 106.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $132.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. 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 has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.41.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Hess’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.66%.

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.