S&P 500
7,226.20
+0.01%
Dow Jones
49,494.60
-0.62%
Nasdaq 100
27,685.40
+0.66%
Russell 2000
2,804.78
-0.02%
FTSE 100
10,364.50
0.00%
Nikkei 225
59,260.50
-0.78%

Energy

Hess Activist Efforts by Elliott Heating Up

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
By Jon C. Ogg Published
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Merger
Thinkstock
We cannot help but to notice just how active the activist investor community has been. Activist investors are literally influencing hundreds of billions of dollars of value in companies right now. The latest acceleration comes from Elliott Management sending a letter to the shareholders of Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES).

The letter is on the heels of the company sending a letter of its own to shareholders saying that it is trying to protect the value of their investment by rejecting Elliott’s plan to break the company up. Elliott likely assumed that this was coming, as the activism efforts have run into resistance.

Elliott points out the stock is suffering from 460% underperformance, and it said that John Hess has no record to run on and has resorted to misrepresentations and scare tactics.

The Hess letter is here.

The Elliott letter is here, and Elliott even has the ReassessHess.com website to support its efforts.

Hess shares are up marginally today at $70.56, against a 52-week trading range of $39.67 to $72.63. Its market cap is nearly $24 billion.

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Half of America Still Feels Financially Exposed Despite 8% Jump in Security
David Beren |

Half of America Still Feels Financially Exposed Despite 8% Jump in Security
52% of Americans Are Building Wealth While Ignoring Their Greatest Risk
David Beren |

52% of Americans Are Building Wealth While Ignoring Their Greatest Risk

Continue Reading

Why Activist Elliott May Ultimately Fail in the Fight Against BHP
Jon C. Ogg |

Why Activist Elliott May Ultimately Fail in the Fight Against BHP

Activist Investor Elliott Management has been going after BHP Billiton Ltd (NYSE: BHP), with billionaire Paul Singer leading that charge,…
Activist Efforts Meets Potential Takeover Headlines for eBay
Jon C. Ogg |

Activist Efforts Meets Potential Takeover Headlines for eBay

When it comes to activist investors, Starboard Value LP is one of the better-known names. And when it comes to…
Jon C. Ogg |

Beware of the Coming Activist Bubble

ThinkstockYou have heard of all sorts of bubbles in the financial world. There are instances like the housing bubble, a bond…
Jon C. Ogg |

Guru and Activist Chasers Likely Unhappy Over EMC Buying Virtustream

EMC has signed a deal to acquire the privately held Virtustream, which cannot make activist investors happy.
Elliott Management Sets Sights (Again) on Breaking Up Marathon Petroleum
Paul Ausick |

Elliott Management Sets Sights (Again) on Breaking Up Marathon Petroleum

Elliott Management and Paul Singer have once again targeted oil refiner Marathon Petroleum for a breakup. Will the outcome be…
Why Elliott Management Wants Its Say (and Profit) in Commvault
Jon C. Ogg |

Why Elliott Management Wants Its Say (and Profit) in Commvault

A press release issued on Monday says that Elliott Management now manages funds that collectively own more than a 10%…
Jon C. Ogg |

Activist Investors Could Face Trouble Influencing EMC and VMware Efforts

VMware could finally find itself independent of such strong control from former parent and super-majority shareholder EMC, but only with…
Disgruntled Shareholder ‘Land & Buildings’ Pushes Aimco’s Board for Strategic Review and Sales Process
247patrick |

Disgruntled Shareholder ‘Land & Buildings’ Pushes Aimco’s Board for Strategic Review and Sales Process

Activist shareholder Land & Buildings Investment Management has issued a letter to the Apartment Investment and Management board calling for…
Kleinfeld Out as Chairman, CEO of Arconic
Paul Ausick |

Kleinfeld Out as Chairman, CEO of Arconic

Arconic chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld resigned his positions with the company this morning, meeting a demand levied by activist…

Top Gaining Stocks

Cboe Global Markets
CBOE • Vol: 1,568,143
New Pluto Global
PSKY • Vol: 12,285,993
Seagate Technology
STX • Vol: 7,378,346
Oracle
ORCL • Vol: 26,317,675
Datadog
DDOG • Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ • Vol: 4,367,433
Clorox
CLX • Vol: 13,260,523
Stryker
SYK • Vol: 4,519,455
Mohawk Industries
MHK • Vol: 1,859,865
Amgen
AMGN • Vol: 3,818,618