Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Estimate for Hess Earnings

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Hess in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $1.60 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.62. The consensus estimate for Hess’ current full-year earnings is $9.51 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hess’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.06 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.92 EPS.

HES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $149.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $46.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $140.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.48. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last three months. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hess by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 5,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,983,000. Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,160 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.