CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. CHG has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with CHG holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most market participants, hedge funds are viewed as slow, outdated financial tools of yesteryear. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the moguls of this group, about 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group has its hands on most of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their highest performing investments, we have spotted a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have trumped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see the details here).
Just as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are a variety of incentives for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action encompassing CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG).
How are hedge funds trading CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 40% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management had the biggest position in CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG), worth close to $47.6 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $36.4 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
Now, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Stevens Capital Management, managed by Matthew Tewksbury, created the largest position in CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG). Stevens Capital Management had 0.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new CHG position is David Harding’s Winton Capital Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG). These stocks are Avista Corp (NYSE:AVA), NorthWestern Corp (NYSE:NWE), MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE), Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR), and Just Energy Group, Inc. Ordinary Shares (Canada) (NYSE:JE). All of these stocks are in the diversified utilities industry and their market caps are closest to CHG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Avista Corp (NYSE:AVA) | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| NorthWestern Corp (NYSE:NWE) | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Just Energy Group, Inc. Ordinary Shares (Canada) (NYSE:JE) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and CH Energy Group Inc (NYSE:CHG) is no exception.
