Hess Corp. upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Roger Read upgraded Hess Corp. (HES) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $193, up from $151. The firm says Shell (SHEL) and Hess are its 2025 top picks within exploration and production. Despite a lackluster oil price forecast, Wells expects the oil and gas sector will deliver positive returns in 2025 via spending discipline, the analyst tells investors in a research note. For Hess, the firm sees two distinct paths to value. First, the merger with Chevron (CVX) closes, and second, the merger doesn’t happen and Hess reverts to an independent company valued off its “unique” Guyana asset.