Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $170.60.

A number of brokerages recently commented on HES. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P raised its stake in Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 154.1% during the 4th quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $183,697,000 after acquiring an additional 837,662 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:HES opened at $143.65 on Friday. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.12. The stock has a market cap of $44.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.

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