Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Declares $0.44 Quarterly Dividend

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 15th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of 0.4375 per share by the oil and gas producer on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%.

Hess has raised its dividend payment by an average of 20.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Hess has a dividend payout ratio of 15.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hess to earn $11.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.75 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,415,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,950. The business's 50 day moving average price is $154.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.19. Hess has a 1 year low of $124.27 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The company has a market cap of $48.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company's revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hess will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Saturday. They set a "sell" rating for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.83.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 in the last quarter. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.