The government requires hedge funds and wealthy investors with over a certain portfolio size to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn’t the intention, these filings level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F filings disclosed the funds’ positions on September 30. We at Insider Monkey have made an extensive database of more than 700 of those elite funds and prominent investors’ filings. In this article, we analyze how these elite funds and prominent investors traded Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) based on those filings.
Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. EGN was in 34 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2018. There were 33 hedge funds in our database with EGN positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that egn isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are viewed as slow, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8,000 funds in operation at the moment, Our researchers hone in on the aristocrats of this group, around 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors preside over the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by following their highest performing picks, Insider Monkey has brought to light several investment strategies that have historically beaten the broader indices. Insider Monkey’s flagship hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by 6 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through early November 2018. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 24% since February 2017 (through December 3rd) even though the market was up nearly 23% during the same period. We just shared a list of 11 short targets in our latest quarterly update.
We’re going to check out the recent hedge fund action regarding Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN).
How are hedge funds trading Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 34 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 3% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 22 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in EGN heading into this year. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically, Icahn Capital LP was the largest shareholder of Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN), with a stake worth $660.6 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Icahn Capital LP was Corvex Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $594.8 million. Magnetar Capital, Carlson Capital, and AQR Capital Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Magnetar Capital, managed by Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser, initiated the most valuable position in Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN). Magnetar Capital had $258 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Robert Emil Zoellner’s Alpine Associates also initiated a $93.8 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new EGN positions are Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, John Bader’s Halcyon Asset Management, and Daniel Arbess’s Perella Weinberg Partners.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) but similarly valued. These stocks are Sensata Technologies Holding PLC (NYSE:ST), ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:SERV), Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO), and DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to EGN’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST | 26 | 1549901 | -3 |
| SERV | 36 | 1172425 | 4 |
| TWLO | 41 | 1168477 | 9 |
| XRAY | 28 | 1252948 | 5 |
| Average | 32.75 | 1285938 | 3.75 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 32.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.29 billion. That figure was $2.17 billion in EGN’s case. Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (NYSE:ST) is the least popular one with only 26 bullish hedge fund positions. Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard TWLO might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
