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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.42.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $162.53 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $151.37 and its 200 day moving average is $147.26. Hess has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Hess by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,191,928,000 after purchasing an additional 303,942 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Hess by 44.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,204 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Hess by 19.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $451,572,000 after purchasing an additional 489,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Hess by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,866,681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $438,602,000 after purchasing an additional 42,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Company Profile

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.