Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) has been given a “BBB” credit rating by Morningstar. The firm’s “BBB” rating indicates that the company is a moderate default risk. They also gave their stock a four star rating.

In other news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $540,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 47,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,825,861.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Several institutional investors have bought and sold shares of the stock. Braun Stacey Associates boosted its position in Hess Corp. by 3.8% in the third quarter. Braun Stacey Associates now owns 200,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,030,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares during the period. ING Groep boosted its position in Hess Corp. by 1.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep now owns 275,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,783,000 after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the period. MUFG Americas boosted its position in Hess Corp. by 2.2% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas now owns 2,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates boosted its position in Hess Corp. by 9.5% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates now owns 913,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,734,000 after buying an additional 79,195 shares during the period.

Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) opened at 42.50 on Friday. The company’s market capitalization is $12.04 billion. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.25. Hess Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.41 and a 52 week high of $79.00.

Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 27th. The company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.07. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The company earned $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 45.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hess Corp. will post ($5.94) earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%.

Several other research firms also recently commented on HES. CLSA reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Hess Corp. in a report on Tuesday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Hess Corp. from $75.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Hess Corp. in a report on Tuesday, January 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Hess Corp. in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hess Corp. from $58.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Hess Corp. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.38.

Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) is an exploration and production (E&P) company that develops, produces, purchases, transports and sells crude oil and natural gas. Its production operations are located primarily in the United States, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, the Joint Development Area of Malaysia/Thailand, Malaysia and Norway. The Company’s production in the United States was from offshore properties in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore properties in the Bakken oil shale play in the Williston Basin of North Dakota, the Permian Basin of Texas, and the Utica Basin of Ohio. Approximately 16% of the Company’s crude oil and natural gas liquids production and 7% of its natural gas production were from European operations. Approximately 22% of the Company’s crude oil and natural gas liquids production were from its African operations. Approximately 1% of the Company’s crude oil and natural gas liquids production and 61% of its natural gas production were from its Asian and Other operations.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:HES

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