Hess (NYSE:HES) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.32 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32, Zacks reports. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%.

Hess Stock Up 0.0 %

HES stock traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $145.12. 1,352,952 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,052,830. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $140.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.39. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.50.

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.