Crestline Management LP Makes New Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,900 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,716,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 154.1% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $183,697,000 after purchasing an additional 837,662 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,521,499,000 after purchasing an additional 698,866 shares during the last quarter. TIG Advisors LLC increased its position in Hess by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. TIG Advisors LLC now owns 927,331 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $123,344,000 after purchasing an additional 466,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Hess by 183.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 594,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $79,064,000 after purchasing an additional 384,595 shares during the last quarter. 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.9 %

Hess stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $132.06. 962,118 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,821,505. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $140.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.44.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Hess's quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.46.

Hess Profile

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.