In the financial world, there are tons of methods investors can use to analyze Mr. Market. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can trounce the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the stock market universe. There are many reasons for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s analyze the recent info for EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL).
What does the smart money think about EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 14% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital had the most valuable position in EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL), worth close to $73.9 million, comprising 0.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Carlson Capital’s heels is Charles Davidson of Wexford Capital, with a $67.2 million position; the fund has 5.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
As industrywide interest increased, certain bigger names have jumped into EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL) headfirst. Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, established the largest position in EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL). Carlson Capital had 73.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital also initiated a $67.2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new EPL investors: Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
Insider trading activity in EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL)
Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL). These stocks are LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ:LNCO), QR Energy LP (NYSE:QRE), Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG), Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY), and Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRZO). This group of stocks are the members of the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps resemble EPL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ:LNCO) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| QR Energy LP (NYSE:QRE) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY) | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRZO) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s studies, regular investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and EPL Oil & Gas Inc (NYSE:EPL) is no exception.
