Hess (NYSE:HES) Given New $155.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its target price upped by Scotiabank from $146.58 to $155.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.70.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $153.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.62. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $161.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $137.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $34,002,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,734,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,933,690.79. This represents a 12.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 1st quarter valued at about $373,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Hess by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 113,287 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $18,095,000 after purchasing an additional 5,528 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hess by 79.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 30,610 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,889,000 after purchasing an additional 13,511 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Hess by 226.5% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 53,409 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $8,531,000 after purchasing an additional 37,051 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Hess by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,581,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $572,124,000 after purchasing an additional 651,311 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently 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.