Is Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) a good investment right now? The smart money is turning bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 3 recently.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to analyze stocks. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see just how much).
Just as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. There are lots of incentives for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action surrounding Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ).
What does the smart money think about Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, holds the largest position in Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ). Balyasny Asset Management has a $81.6 million position in the stock, comprising 1.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by OZ Management, managed by Daniel S. Och, which held a $28 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, and Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, initiated the most valuable position in Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ). Balyasny Asset Management had 81.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management also made a $28 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and William Harnisch’s Peconic Partners LLC.
Insider trading activity in Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ)
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 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 Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ). These stocks are Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL), LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB), Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW), and PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG). All of these stocks are in the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps resemble WPZ’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) | 29 | 0 | 13 |
| Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL) | 15 | 2 | 5 |
| LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) | 64 | 0 | 6 |
| Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) | 32 | 0 | 9 |
| PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) | 39 | 0 | 10 |
With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) applies perfectly to this mantra.
