Sand Grove Capital Management LLP Purchases 5,241 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sand Grove Capital Management LLP increased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 237,074 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,241 shares during the quarter. Hess accounts for about 15.3% of Sand Grove Capital Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Sand Grove Capital Management LLP owned about 0.08% of Hess worth $31,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hess by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP increased its position in Hess by 154.1% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $183,697,000 after buying an additional 837,662 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Hess by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,521,499,000 after buying an additional 698,866 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Hess by 164.1% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 769,042 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $102,290,000 after buying an additional 477,796 shares during the period. Finally, TIG Advisors LLC increased its position in Hess by 101.2% in the fourth quarter. TIG Advisors LLC now owns 927,331 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $123,344,000 after buying an additional 466,518 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HES shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.16.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $134.86 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $139.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.61. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $161.69.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.