Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) was in 41 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. APA shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest recently. There were 35 hedge funds in our database with APA positions at the end of the previous quarter.
At the moment, there are plenty of methods market participants can use to watch their holdings. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the world of equities. There are a variety of incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA).
What have hedge funds been doing with Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 41 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management had the largest position in Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), worth close to $386.8 million, accounting for 2.3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, which held a $151.2 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have jumped into Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) headfirst. Orbis Investment Management, managed by William B. Gray, assembled the most outsized position in Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA). Orbis Investment Management had 105.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management also made a $32.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new APA investors: Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, and Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital.
How have insiders been trading Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) has seen 5 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA). These stocks are Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC), Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN), Canadian Natural Resource Ltd (USA) (NYSE:CNQ), and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG). This group of stocks are in the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps resemble APA’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) | 27 | 0 | 8 |
| Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) | 60 | 0 | 1 |
| Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) | 45 | 0 | 2 |
| Canadian Natural Resource Ltd (USA) (NYSE:CNQ) | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG) | 40 | 0 | 6 |
With the returns demonstrated by our strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) is an important part of this process.
