Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG) has experienced an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately.

According to most market participants, hedge funds are viewed as unimportant, outdated investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the bigwigs of this club, around 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of the smart money’s total asset base, and by tracking their best stock picks, we have revealed a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (check out a sample of our picks).

Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of reasons for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG).

How have hedgies been trading Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG)?

At year’s end, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Jonathan Auerbach’s Hound Partners had the biggest position in Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG), worth close to $84 million, comprising 6.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Charles Clough of Clough Capital Partners, with a $50 million position; 4.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Scott McLellan’s Marble Arch Investments, Matthew Iorio’s White Elm Capital and Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management.

Consequently, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Seneca Capital, managed by Douglas Hirsch, assembled the biggest position in Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG). Seneca Capital had 13 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $10 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new GLNG positions are Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, George Soros’s Soros Fund Management, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results exhibited by our studies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Golar LNG Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:GLNG) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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