Hess (NYSE:HES) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HES. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.26.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $126.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.77 and a 200 day moving average of $142.21. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Hess by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,521,499,000 after acquiring an additional 698,866 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P lifted its stake in Hess by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $962,715,000 after acquiring an additional 120,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $888,240,000 after acquiring an additional 158,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Hess by 2.4% during 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 buying an additional 91,131 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.