Analyst Review Alert: Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES)

Analysts are weighing in on how Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), might perform in the near term. Wall Street analysts have a much less favorable assessment of the stock, with a mean rating of 2.3. The stock is rated as buy by 9 analysts, with 4 outperform and 13 hold rating. The rating score is on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for strong buy and 5 stands for strong sell.

For the current quarter, the 19.00 analysts offering adjusted EPS forecast have a consensus estimate of $-1.33 a share, which would compare with $-0.52 in the same quarter last year. They have a high estimate of $-1.18 and a low estimate of $-1.53. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $1.07B from $1.94B the year-ago period.

For the full year, 23.00 Wall Street analysts forecast this company would deliver earnings of -5.35 per share, with a high estimate of $-3.85 and a low estimate of $-5.87. It had reported earnings per share of $-3.93 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $4.61B versus 6.56B in the preceding year.

The analysts project the company to maintain annual growth of around -27.90% percent over the next five years as compared to an average growth rate of 8.97% percent expected for its competitors in the same industry.

Among the 23 analysts Data provided by Thomson/First Call tracks, the 12-month average price target for HES is $63.22 but some analysts are projecting the price to go as high as $75.00. If the optimistic analysts are correct, that represents a 24 percent upside potential from the recent closing price of $60.38. Some sell-side analysts, particularly the bearish ones, have called for $40.00 price targets on shares of Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES).

In the last reported results, the company reported earnings of $-0.52 per share, while analysts were calling for share earnings of $-0.73. It was an earnings surprise of 28.80%percent. In the matter of earnings surprises, the term Cockroach Effect is often implied. Cockroach Effect is a market theory that suggests that when a company reveals bad news to the public, there may be many more related negative events that have yet to be revealed. In the case of earnings surprises, if a company is suggesting a negative earnings surprise it means there are more to come.

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Bakken Midstream. It is also involved in crude oil and natural gas gathering, processing of natural gas and the fractionation of natural gas liquids, transportation of crude oil by rail car, terminating and loading crude oil and natural gas liquids, and the storage and terminating of propane primarily in the Bakken shale play of North Dakota. The company operates primarily in the United States, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, the Joint Development Area of Malaysia/Thailand, Malaysia, and Norway. As of December 31, 2015, it had total proved reserves of 1,086 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in New York, New York.