Hess (NYSE:HES) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Sunday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HES. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.30.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $142.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,347,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,399. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.15. Hess has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $135.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.58.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 940.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,446 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 15,770 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Hess by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,243 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 134.9% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 21.0% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 11,858 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 13.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 367,192 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $56,048,000 after purchasing an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

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.