Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) Short Interest Up 24.6% in May

Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) was the target of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,080,000 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the May 15th total of 8,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hess Trading Down 0.6%

HES stock opened at $143.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Hess has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $161.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 650,000 shares of company stock valued at $91,845,500 in the last three months. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after purchasing an additional 82,703 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 333,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,300,000 after purchasing an additional 42,797 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,188 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 14,844 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.16.

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.