Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) – Piper Jaffray Companies decreased their Q2 2019 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hess in a report released on Tuesday, May 14th, Zacks Investment Research reports. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst R. Todd now expects that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $0.08 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.11. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Hess’ FY2019 earnings at $0.43 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $0.54 EPS and Q4 2020 earnings at $0.54 EPS.
Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. ValuEngine lowered shares of Hess from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. MKM Partners restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of Hess from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Hess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.
HES stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,165,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,562. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Hess has a 52 week low of $35.59 and a 52 week high of $74.81. The firm has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -77.41 and a beta of 1.94.
Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.35. Hess had a negative net margin of 0.75% and a positive return on equity of 0.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.27) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HES. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Hess by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,410,643 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,026,000 after purchasing an additional 41,581 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Hess by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 63,398 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,161 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Hess by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 45,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management raised its holdings in Hess by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 5,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.07% of the company’s stock.
In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 8,700 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $503,991.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael R. Turner sold 18,756 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.52, for a total transaction of $1,247,649.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 118,513 shares of company stock worth $7,723,244. 12.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently -135.14%.
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.