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

Hess (NYSE:HES) had its price target lowered by Piper Sandler from $151.00 to $147.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

HES has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.16.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $134.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $161.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $139.44 and a 200-day moving average of $141.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HES. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 367.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other 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.