Analysts Set Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Target Price at $177.42

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $177.42.

HES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $162.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.22. 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 has a twelve month low of $124.27 and a twelve month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.08%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.