Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) is Water Island Capital LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Water Island Capital LLC decreased its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409,761 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 11,641 shares during the period. Hess accounts for 5.9% of Water Island Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Water Island Capital LLC owned about 0.13% of Hess worth $54,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Hess by 46.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 183.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 594,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $79,064,000 after acquiring an additional 384,595 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,056,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,158,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 744,536 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $99,031,000 after acquiring an additional 299,041 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,672,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,890,217. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.59. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $39.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.