Alpine Global Management LLC Buys Shares of 10,000 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,330,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Hess by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 51,635 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,868,000 after purchasing an additional 12,274 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,726 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hess by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 81,168 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $10,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Natixis boosted its holdings in Hess by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 131,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $17,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in Hess by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 15,159 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:HES traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,097,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,880,441. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $143.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.99. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.46.

About Hess

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.