Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Hess (HES)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Hess (NYSE: HES) recently:

• 4/1/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 3/24/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 3/20/2024 – Hess had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $200.00 to $205.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 3/16/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 3/14/2024 – Hess had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $169.00 to $172.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 3/8/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 3/4/2024 – Hess had its price target raised by analysts at Susquehanna from $152.00 to $156.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 2/29/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 2/26/2024 – Hess had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $170.00 to $200.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 2/21/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 2/13/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.
• 2/5/2024 – Hess is now covered by analysts at StockNews.com. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.20. The company had a trading volume of 387,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,722,234. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $124.27 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The company has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.71.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,433,050.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the company’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 directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 in the last three months. 9.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HES. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter worth about $446,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Hess by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Hess by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 114,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hess by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,928,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,310,590,000 after purchasing an additional 667,979 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.