Susquehanna Raises Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target to $154.00

Hess (NYSE:HES - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Susquehanna from $149.00 to $154.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HES. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.42.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $139.42. 1,143,268 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,149,899. Hess has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.11 and a 200-day moving average of $145.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $42.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Hess's revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Hess will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is 30.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Hess during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.