Investors Purchase High Volume of Hess Call Options (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 23,173 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 384% compared to the typical volume of 4,792 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Hess Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $158.86 on Friday. Hess has a 1 year low of $124.27 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 1.24.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Hess will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 26.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’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 $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hess news, CFO John P. Rielly sold 2,596 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $375,173.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,443,104. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.