ENSCO PLC (ESV): Hedge Funds and Insiders Are Bullish, What Should You Do?

ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) was in 37 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. ESV has seen an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 28 hedge funds in our database with ESV holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are plenty of indicators market participants can use to analyze their holdings. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are many motivations for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV).

What does the smart money think about ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 37 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 32% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, MHR Fund Management, managed by Mark Rachesky, holds the biggest position in ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV). MHR Fund Management has a $245.1 million position in the stock, comprising 8.7% of its 13F portfolio. On MHR Fund Management’s heels is Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick of First Pacific Advisors LLC, with a $147.1 million position; the fund has 1.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Jonathan Auerbach’s Hound Partners, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Scott McLellan’s Marble Arch Investments.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. MHR Fund Management, managed by Mark Rachesky, assembled the largest position in ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV). MHR Fund Management had 245.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC also made a $147.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ESV investors: Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

How are insiders trading ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV). These stocks are Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE), Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO), Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE:CXO), Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL), and Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG). This group of stocks belong to the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps are similar to ESV’s market cap.