Hess Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HES)

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 23,173 call options on the company. This is an increase of 384% compared to the average daily volume of 4,792 call options.

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of HES traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,758,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,562,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $48.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.25. Hess has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Hess by 581.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $358,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,824 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,100,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at about $213,336,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 valued at $552,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 889,122 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday, April 25th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

About Hess

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.