Zacks Research Has Bullish Outlook for Hess FY2024 Earnings

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 earnings estimates for Hess in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $9.55 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $9.53. The consensus estimate for Hess' current full-year earnings is $9.51 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess' Q4 2024 earnings at $1.63 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $1.70 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $1.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $151.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,817,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,467. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18. The business's fifty day moving average price is $140.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.55.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HBK Investments L P grew its position in Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $966,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third 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 buying an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $450,696,000 after buying an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Hess by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $361,691,000 after buying an additional 150,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

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.