StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a note issued to investors on Friday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on HES. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.42.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $158.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 1.24. Hess has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Insider Transactions at Hess

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HES. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Hess by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,191,928,000 after acquiring an additional 303,942 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $552,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,204 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Hess by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $451,572,000 after acquiring an additional 489,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,866,681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $438,602,000 after acquiring an additional 42,802 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.