Hess Corporation HES reported adjusted first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of 82 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 44 cents and improving from the year-ago quarter’s loss of 60 cents.Notably, quarterly revenues increased to $1,919 million from $1,369 million a year ago. Moreover, the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,725 million.Higher price realizations of commodities primarily drove the company’s strong first-quarter results.Hess Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Hess Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Hess Corporation QuoteQ1 Operational UpdateExploration and ProductionIn the quarter under review, the Exploration and Production business reported adjusted earnings of $308 million against loss of $120 million a year ago. The business was favored by higher realized oil and gas prices.Quarterly hydrocarbon production was 333 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), down from 349 MBoe/d in the year-ago period owing to lower contributions from Gulf of Mexico – offshore U.S. resources – and the prolific Bakken play.Crude oil production decreased from 191 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d) in first-quarter 2020 to 177 MBbls/d. Moreover, natural gas liquids production totaled 53 MBbls/d, down from 56 MBbls/d in the prior-year quarter. However, natural gas output was 617 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/d), up from 611 Mcf/d a year ago.Worldwide crude oil realization per barrel of $52.52 (excluding the impact of hedging) improved from $42.08 in the year-ago period. Also, worldwide natural gas prices rose to $4.90 per Mcf from the year-ago $3.16. Moreover, the average worldwide natural gas liquids selling price increased to $29.49 per barrel from $9.32 a year ago.MidstreamFrom the midstream business, the company generated adjusted net earnings of $75 million, significantly up from $61 million a year ago on improvement in tariff rates and minimum volume commitments.Operating ExpensesOperating expenses in the first quarter totaled $265 million versus the year-ago $303 million. Marketing costs, however, increased to $518 million from $378 million a year ago. But, exploration expenses contracted to $33 million from $189 million in the year-ago period.FinancialsQuarterly net cash flow from operations was $591 million in the first quarter, reflecting a significant improvement from the year-ago $445 million. Hess’ capital expenditure for exploration and production activities totaled $309 million, down from $631 million in the prior-year quarter.As of Mar 31, 2021, the company had $1,866 million in cash & cash equivalents. Its long-term debt was recorded at $8,273 million at first quarter-end. Current maturity of the long-term debt is $13 million. Debt to capitalization at quarter-end was 56.5%.GuidanceNotably, the company expects its 2021 net production (excluding Libya) in the band of 290,000 Boe/d to 295,000 Boe/d.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderHess currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space include EOG Resources, Inc. EOG, Diamondback Energy, Inc. FANG and Matador Resources Company MTDR. While EOG Resources and Matador carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Diamondback sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.EOG Resources is likely to see earnings growth of 272.6% in 2021.Diamondback is expected to witness earnings growth of 112.5% in 2021.Matador is likely to see earnings growth of 300% in 2021.Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to DoubleFrom thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Hess Corporation (HES): Free Stock Analysis Report EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG): Free Stock Analysis Report Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG): Free Stock Analysis Report Matador Resources Company (MTDR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.