Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) – Equities research analysts at Piper Sandler lifted their Q1 2020 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hess in a research report issued on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler analyst R. Todd now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of ($0.25) for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.57). Piper Sandler has a “Overweight” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler also issued estimates for Hess’ Q2 2020 earnings at ($0.78) EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at ($0.59) EPS, FY2020 earnings at ($2.59) EPS, Q1 2021 earnings at ($0.47) EPS, Q2 2021 earnings at ($0.43) EPS, Q3 2021 earnings at ($0.38) EPS, Q4 2021 earnings at ($0.34) EPS and FY2021 earnings at ($1.61) EPS.
HES has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $76.00 to $57.00 in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Co reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $83.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hess from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.41.
Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $30.69 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.29. Hess has a one year low of $26.06 and a one year high of $74.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.90 and a beta of 1.82.
Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.04). Hess had a negative net margin of 6.16% and a negative return on equity of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,728,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hess by 0.7% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 128,920 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,797,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 1.6% during the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 216,136 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,361 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 44.0% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 19,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 5,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Hess by 10.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 18,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. 85.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 5,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.68, for a total transaction of $292,437.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,608,174.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Rielly sold 49,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.54, for a total transaction of $3,508,659.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 238,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,849,113.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 357,322 shares of company stock worth $20,890,829 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.22% of the company’s stock.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently -105.26%.
Hess Company Profile
Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores for, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. The company conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Denmark, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities primarily offshore Guyana, Suriname, Canada, and in the Gulf of Mexico.
