Hess (NYSE:HES) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

HES has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Hess Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $145.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $141.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.47. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 158.9% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 4,701 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Hess by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,760 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.