Piper Sandler Boosts Hess (NYSE:HES) Price Target to $173.00

Hess (NYSE:HES - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $172.00 to $173.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HES. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a sell rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Hess Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Hess stock traded up $0.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $151.78. 1,002,774 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,591,128. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $149.60 and its 200 day moving average is $146.76. The firm has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 1.27. Hess has a 1 year low of $124.27 and a 1 year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. Hess's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,433,050.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 1,456.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 7,022 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $967,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Hess by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 39,249 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 16,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Hess by 8.7% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 564,454 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $86,361,000 after purchasing an additional 45,246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.