Hess Midstream LP (HESM) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
HESM is Hess Midstream LP, a fee-based midstream partnership that gathers, processes, and transports oil, gas, and water in North Dakota's Bakken under long-term contracts, now anchored by Chevron after its Hess acquisition. Investors typically hold it for a high single-digit distribution yield and steady fee-based cash flow rather than commodity-price upside.
HESM stock price
As of 2026-07-27, Hess Midstream LP (HESM) last closed at $39.81, down 1.3% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $31.74 and $43.53.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Hess Midstream LP's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Hess Midstream LP (HESM) do?
Hess Midstream LP owns and operates midstream infrastructure in the Williston Basin (Bakken and Three Forks shale plays) in North Dakota, running three segments: gathering (oil, gas, and produced water pipelines), processing and storage (natural gas processing and NGL fractionation), and terminaling and export (crude and NGL loading and transport). It earns essentially all revenue from fixed, fee-based, long-term contracts with minimum-volume commitments, historically with Hess Corporation and now with Chevron following Chevron's July 2026 completion of its Hess acquisition. This structure insulates cash flow from short-term commodity-price swings, since HESM is paid for handling volumes rather than for the value of the barrels.
The investment picture is that of a yield-and-return-of-capital vehicle rather than a growth stock. Management guides to at least 5% annual distribution growth through 2028, has raised the payout for eight consecutive years, and returns excess free cash flow through buybacks (including recurring accretive repurchases from its sponsor). The trade-off is concentration: growth depends almost entirely on drilling intensity in a single basin served by a single anchor customer, so a decision like Chevron trimming Bakken rigs directly pressures volumes and guidance. Unlike diversified peers, HESM has little exposure to energy-export or energy-transition tailwinds.
What's driving Hess Midstream LP (HESM)?
1. Fee-based, contracted cash flow
Nearly all revenue comes from long-term, fixed-fee contracts with minimum-volume commitments, which smooths cash flow across commodity cycles. This underpins the distribution and gives management visibility into multi-year free cash flow. It is the core reason the units trade as an income vehicle.
2. Return of capital
HESM targets at least 5% annual distribution growth through 2028 and has raised its payout for eight straight years, reaching roughly $0.78 per Class A share quarterly in Q1 2026. It also returns excess free cash flow via buybacks, including recurring accretive repurchases of Class A shares and Class B units from its sponsor. Guidance points to roughly $1 billion of excess free cash flow available for returns.
3. Low capital intensity and free cash flow harvest
With 2026 capital expenditures guided to only about $105 million against adjusted EBITDA of roughly $1.25 billion, the business generates substantial free cash flow. Adjusted free cash flow guidance sits in the high hundreds of millions to near $960 million for 2026. This supports both the growing distribution and continued buybacks.
4. Chevron sponsorship transition
Chevron completed its acquisition of Hess in July 2026, replacing Hess Corporation as HESM's anchor customer and sponsor (Global Infrastructure Partners fully exited earlier in 2026). A larger, well-capitalized parent could support Bakken development, though it also concentrates counterparty exposure in one major. Some analysts view HESM as a potential future consolidation target.
What are the risks to Hess Midstream LP (HESM)?
HESM carries significant concentration risk: growth depends almost entirely on drilling activity in a single basin (the Bakken) served by a single anchor customer (now Chevron). Chevron's decision to cut Bakken rigs from three to two has already weighed on volume expectations and guidance. As a limited partnership it issues a Schedule K-1 and has tax and structural considerations that differ from a standard corporation. It also lacks the diversified export and energy-transition exposure of larger midstream peers, and rising leverage or a distribution policy change would directly affect the income thesis. A Morgan Stanley downgrade and sponsor-transition concerns have added to sentiment risk.
How is Hess Midstream LP (HESM) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Hess Midstream LP's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$1.55B
- Q1 2026 revenue: ~$390M
- 2026 adj. EBITDA guidance: ~$1.225B-$1.275B
- 2026 net income guidance: ~$650M-$700M
- Market cap: ~$7.8B
- Dividend yield: ~8%
- Trailing P/E: ~13x
- EV / EBITDA: ~9.4x
HESM trades like an income-oriented midstream partnership, with a high single-digit distribution yield and mid-teens P/E supported by contracted, fee-based cash flow. Enterprise value sits near $11.6 billion, reflecting partnership leverage on top of the roughly $7.8 billion equity value. Valuation multiples are broadly in line with fee-based midstream peers, with the yield doing much of the work in the total-return case.
Who competes with Hess Midstream LP (HESM)?
Diversified large-cap midstream
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), Williams (WMB), and Enbridge (ENB) are far larger and more diversified across basins, products, and export or energy-transition assets. They offer scale and stability HESM lacks, but generally at lower yields; HESM is a more concentrated, single-basin alternative.
Bakken and gathering-focused peers
Western Midstream (WES), ONEOK (OKE), and Kinetik are gathering-and-processing operators exposed to specific basins and producer customers. Like HESM they earn fee-based revenue tied to drilling activity, making them the closest comparables on business model and customer-concentration profile.
Sponsor and anchor customer
Chevron (CVX), following its July 2026 acquisition of Hess, is HESM's anchor customer and largest holder rather than a competitor. Its Bakken drilling decisions directly drive HESM's volumes, so its capital-allocation choices are central to the investment case.
How to invest in Hess Midstream LP (HESM)
There are three common ways to get HESM exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so HESM sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where HESM fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Hess Midstream LP (HESM)
HESM is a high-yield, single-basin midstream play whose appeal rests on contracted Bakken cash flows and shareholder returns, balanced against concentration in one customer (Chevron) and one shale play.
More on Hess Midstream LP (HESM)
Whether HESM is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is HESM a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the HESM stock forecast.
For income investors, whether HESM pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does HESM pay a dividend?
Build a basket around HESM with Walnut
Use Hess Midstream LP as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Hess Midstream (HESM) do?
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It owns and operates midstream infrastructure in North Dakota's Bakken shale, gathering, processing, storing, and transporting crude oil, natural gas, NGLs, and produced water. It earns fee-based revenue under long-term contracts rather than by taking direct commodity-price exposure.
Is HESM a stock or a partnership?
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HESM is a limited partnership, so holders own units rather than shares and typically receive a Schedule K-1 for tax purposes. Its structure and tax treatment differ from a standard corporation, which is worth understanding before investing. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Who is HESM's main customer?
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Historically Hess Corporation, and now Chevron, which completed its acquisition of Hess in July 2026. Chevron is both the anchor customer whose Bakken production drives HESM's volumes and a major holder of the partnership.
What is HESM's dividend yield?
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As of mid-2026 the distribution yield was roughly 8%, with a quarterly Class A distribution near $0.78 per unit. Management targets at least 5% annual distribution growth through 2028 and has raised the payout for eight consecutive years.
How did HESM perform in Q1 2026?
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First-quarter 2026 revenue was about $390 million with adjusted EBITDA near $300 million, despite severe winter weather. The partnership also repurchased Class A shares and Class B units and raised its quarterly distribution.
What are the biggest risks with HESM?
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Concentration is the main risk: nearly all volumes come from one basin (the Bakken) and one anchor customer (Chevron). Reduced drilling activity, such as Chevron cutting Bakken rigs, directly pressures volumes, guidance, and the distribution growth outlook.
How does HESM make money if commodity prices fall?
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Its revenue is fee-based, paid for handling volumes under long-term contracts with minimum-volume commitments, so short-term oil and gas price moves have limited direct impact. The larger driver is how much its customer chooses to produce in the Bakken.
How does HESM compare to larger midstream companies?
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Compared with diversified operators like Enterprise Products Partners, Williams, or Enbridge, HESM is smaller and concentrated in a single basin, with little energy-export or energy-transition exposure. It offers a higher yield in exchange for that concentration and narrower asset base.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Hess Midstream LP's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.