Hess (NYSE:HES) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.43 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43, Briefing.com reports. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $162.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,933,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,491. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. Hess has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.42.

Hess Company Profile

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.