Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $170.60.

Several analysts have issued reports on HES shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $157.40 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $146.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.66. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.