Hess Corp. (HES), Apple Inc. (AAPL): Billionaire David Einhorn’s Latest Shakeups

Billionaire David Einhorn founded his Greenlight Capital hedge fund in 1996. Einhorn emphasizes intrinsic value for achieving out-sized investment returns and safeguarding capital regardless of market conditions. Einhorn says of his philosophy…

Let’s check out his top moves for last quarter (see more of Greenlight’s bullish moves).

Einhorn added both Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) and Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE:OIS), which are also big bets by fellow hedge funds Elliott Associates and Jana Partners, respectively. Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) has seen billionaire Paul Singer of Elliott Associates take an activist role in hopes of splitting Hess’ international and U.S. operations (check out Elliott’s latest moves).

Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) has a number of  other tailwinds to support the stock. Hess is targeting a 50/50 ratio between unconventional and conventional assets by 2013, versus its existing ratio of 80/20. Hess’ new lease in the Bakken and augmentation of Utica acreage should help promote its new strategy.

Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) has also been on an asset sale campaign, which amounted to $3.4 billion in 2012, including its interest in the Bittern, Beryl and Schiehallion fields in the UK. These funds are expected to fund Hess’ exploration and production opportunities.

Oil States is a diversified oilfield services company, manufacturing products for deep-water production facilities and sub-sea pipelines. Most notable news of late is that Jana Partners has a 9.2% stake in Oil States, with the activist now pushing for a REIT spin-off (see Jana’s top stocks). Sterne Agee believes the accommodations unit could be worth $5.5 billion under a REIT structure. Oil States’ market cap is only $5 billion.

Management has addressed the possibility of a spin-off, yet, they appear to be “dragging their feet.” With Jana’s track record, I believe there is value to be uncovered at Oil States. The company also only trades on the cheap side at 13.2 times earnings, compared to the likes of Cameron International’s 20.3 times and FMC Technologies’ 33.4 times.

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