Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES – Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,480,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the September 15th total of 4,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after buying an additional 294,146 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Hess by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after acquiring an additional 340,490 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Hess by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 11.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,359,000 after purchasing an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 1.6 %

Hess stock traded up $2.13 on Thursday, hitting $138.77. 614,665 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,149,688. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.52. The firm has a market cap of $42.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. Hess’s revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HES shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.92.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Hess

Hess Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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