Hess Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 9,770 put options on the company. This is an increase of 82% compared to the average daily volume of 5,371 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HES. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,191,928,000 after acquiring an additional 303,942 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 44.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after buying an additional 1,105,204 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Hess by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $451,572,000 after acquiring an additional 489,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,866,681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $438,602,000 after purchasing an additional 42,802 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 0.5 %

HES opened at $157.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $152.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.99. The company has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.24. Hess has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hess will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 26.80%.

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.