UBS Group Trims Hess (NYSE:HES) Target Price to $173.00

Hess (NYSE:HES - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by UBS Group from $192.00 to $173.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HES. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $171.31.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $131.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,842,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,225,369. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Hess will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $110,423,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $227,273,000 after acquiring an additional 663,338 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 64.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $218,220,000 after acquiring an additional 567,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 45.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $264,664,000 after acquiring an additional 561,832 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.