UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Hess (NYSE:HES) Stock Price

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $185.00 to $186.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $145.81 on Thursday. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.22 and its 200-day moving average is $138.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $44.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hess by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,498,458 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $465,330,000 after purchasing an additional 179,636 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by 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.