March 20, 2025
Top 10 Stock Hess Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Hess – Top 10 Stock in Oil & Gas Mining and Production
Hess is listed as a top 10 stock on March 20, 2025 in the market index Oil & Gas because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Three consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. Only the Value Rank is below average. The investment rationale may be an investment in future growth, supported by professional market opinion. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 43 (43% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for Hess on March 20, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Oil & Gas Production |
| Index | Low Emissions, Employee Focus US, Human Rights, Oil & Gas, S&P 500 |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Hess Hold
| 360 METRICS | March 20, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 4 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 72 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 54 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 60 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 43 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 43 (better than 43% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Hess are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Hess. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 72, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth, as well as stock returns. This means that growth is higher than for 72% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 54 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 54% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 60, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 60% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 4, meaning that the share price of Hess is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 96% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 43, Hess is worse than 57% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as above-average growth (Growth Rank of 72), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 54), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 60), it is a solid stock investment where growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale, also reflected by institutional investors. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much more do you pay for the stock of Hess compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of thumb: The growth rank measures the growth momentum of the company (72% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (28%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just reflects the past, sometimes the reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Hess positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 60 (better than 60% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Hess is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Hess. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 40 (worse than 60% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Hess. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 75, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 75% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 71, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 71% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 60 (more positive than 60% compared with investment alternatives), Hess has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Hess Stock Price Value low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 4 (worse than 96% compared with alternatives), Hess shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for Hess. Price-to-Sales is 17 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 83% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Hess's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 4, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Hess. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 10 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 72% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 4, is a sell recommendation based on Hess's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Hess? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as Hess? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. Hess may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Hess Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), Hess shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Hess. Sales Growth has a rank of 96 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 96% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 16% of competitors with a rank of 77, and Stock Returns with the rank of 52 is also an outperformance. Only Profit Growth is low with a rank of 16 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 84% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 72, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. All three operating growth indicators, namely revenue, profit, and capital growth, are showing improvements. This is a good indication of a company with a positive future. That might, at the same time, be the simple reason why profit growth is low. A growing company needs money and thus can't yet show high profit growth. Look out for signs in corporate communication about extra growth efforts costing time and money. If that is the case, Hess is a good growth stock. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Hess Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 20, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 21 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 67 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 77 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 54 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 54 (better than 54% compared with alternatives), the company Hess has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Hess is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above-average for Hess. Refinancing is at 67, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 67% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 77, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 21, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 79% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 54 (better than 54% compared with alternatives), Hess has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and Hess could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Hess Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 20, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 4 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 72 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 77 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 26 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 26 (worse than 74% compared with investment alternatives), Hess (Oil & Gas Production, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Hess are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 4 (worse than 96% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 72) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 54, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 26, is a hold recommendation based on Hess's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Hess exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 4), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 72). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 54) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). ...read more
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