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Hess (HES) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates on Higher Commodity Prices

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Hess Corporation (HES - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2022 earnings per share of $1.30, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12. The figure also improved from the year-ago earnings of 82 cents per share.

Quarterly revenues increased to $2,371 million from $1,919 million a year ago. The top line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,030 million.

The higher commodity price realizations backed the strong quarterly results.

Hess Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Hess Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Hess Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Hess Corporation Quote

Operational Update

Exploration and Production

For the quarter under review, the Exploration and Production business reported adjusted earnings of $460 million, improving from a profit of $308 million a year ago. The business was favored by higher realized commodity prices, partially offset by decreased output.

Quarterly hydrocarbon production was 297 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), down from 333 MBoe/d in the year-ago period, owing to unplanned downtime in the Gulf of Mexico.

Crude oil production decreased from 177 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d) in first-quarter 2021 to 151 MBbls/d. Natural gas liquids production totaled 50 MBbls/d, down from 53 MBbls/d in the prior-year quarter. Natural gas output was 577 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/d), down from 617 Mcf/d a year ago.

Worldwide crude oil realization per barrel of $94.04 (excluding the impacts of hedging) significantly improved from $52.52 in the year-ago period. Also, worldwide natural gas prices rose to $5.28 per Mcf from the year-ago figure of $4.90. The average worldwide natural gas liquids’ selling price increased to $39.79 per barrel from $29.49 a year ago.

Midstream

From the midstream business, the company generated adjusted net earnings of $72 million, down from $75 million a year ago.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses for the first quarter totaled $313 million versus the year-ago level of $265 million. Marketing costs increased to $682 million from $518 million a year ago. Exploration expenses rose to $43 million from $33 million in the year-ago period.

Total costs and expenses increased to $1,669 million for the quarter from $1,460 million a year ago.

Financials

Net cash used in operations was $156 million for the first quarter. Hess’ capital expenditure for exploration and production activities totaled $580 million.

As of Mar 31, 2022, the company had $1,370 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its long-term debt was recorded at $7,934 million at first-quarter end. The current maturity of the long-term debt is $22 million.

Other News

On Apr 26, Hess announced three discoveries in the Stabroek Block, thereby increasing the block’s gross discovered recoverable resource estimate from 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent to 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Zacks Rank & Other Stock to Consider

Hess currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other prospective #1 Ranked stocks belonging to the energy space include ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) , Marathon Oil (MRO - Free Report) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY - Free Report) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Considering production and reserves, ConocoPhillips is one of the leading exploration and production player in the global market. ConocoPhillips is likely to post first-quarter results on May 5.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ConocoPhillips’ earnings is pegged at $3.24 per share, suggesting massive year-over-year growth.

Marathon Oil is a leading oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Marathon Oil is likely to post first-quarter results on May 4.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Marathon Oil’s earnings is pegged at 98 cents per share, suggesting a massive year-over-year improvement.

In the United States, Occidental Petroleum is among the largest oil producers. Occidental Petroleum is likely to post first-quarter results on May 10.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Occidental Petroleum’s earnings is pegged at $2 per share.

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