Hess (NYSE:HES) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.32 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32, Zacks reports. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $145.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.39. The stock has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.18. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

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.