Is Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) a good stock to buy now? Investors who are in the know are in a pessimistic mood. The number of long hedge fund positions fell by 6 recently.
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With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the recent action surrounding Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW).
What does the smart money think about Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -38% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, holds the most valuable position in Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW). Dreman Value Management has a $34.1 million position in the stock, comprising 1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell of Arrowstreet Capital, with a $26.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Steven Tananbaum’s GoldenTree Asset Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
Because Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) has experienced a declination in interest from the smart money, logic holds that there exists a select few hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings at the end of the year. Interestingly, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC said goodbye to the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling about $29.3 million in stock., and Israel Englander of Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $3.9 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 6 funds at the end of the year.
How are insiders trading Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW). These stocks are Pengrowth Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:PGH), Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC), Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK), Enerplus Corp (USA) (NYSE:ERF), and Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN). All of these stocks are in the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps match ATW’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Pengrowth Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:PGH) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) | 12 | 8 | 0 |
| Enerplus Corp (USA) (NYSE:ERF) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) | 10 | 1 | 1 |
With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
