Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hess (NYSE:HES) Stock Price

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Mizuho from $193.00 to $191.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential upside of 42.09% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HES. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.16.

Hess Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of HES opened at $134.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.35. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 8.4% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Hess by 0.4% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,073 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.