Zacks Research Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Hess in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Kanoria now expects that the oil and gas producer will earn $2.00 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.99. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $8.32 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.97 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $10.07 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.89 EPS.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HES. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $156.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.01. Hess has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.