Hess (NYSE:HES) PT Raised to $173.00

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $172.00 to $173.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on HES. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.75.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $151.73. The company had a trading volume of 77,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,578,398. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.76. Hess has a 1-year low of $124.27 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was 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 directly 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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last three months. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its stake in Hess by 8.2% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the first quarter worth approximately $201,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 13.2% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,211 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hess during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.