Hess (NYSE:HES) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $158.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.32. The stock has a market cap of $48.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBRA Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,324,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $1,210,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in Hess by 449.6% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 9,497 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 7,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.