Hess (NYSE:HES) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.43 EPS

Hess (NYSE:HES) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43, Briefing.com reports. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Hess Stock Performance

HES traded up $1.08 on Friday, reaching $162.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,932,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,566,094. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05. Hess has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $151.09 and its 200 day moving average is $147.20.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.76% 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.