Hess (HES) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Hess (NYSE:HES) is set to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.73 per share for the quarter.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Hess to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $11 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $150.80 on Thursday. Hess has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The company has a market capitalization of $46.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,832,380 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,588,956,000 after acquiring an additional 322,773 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,728,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $756,386,000 after purchasing an additional 93,731 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in Hess by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,752,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $675,191,000 after purchasing an additional 29,333 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Hess by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,464,386 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $349,499,000 after purchasing an additional 264,225 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Hess by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,413,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $347,951,000 after purchasing an additional 291,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.67.

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.