Hedge Funds Are Buying CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX)

CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) was in 32 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. CNX investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest recently. There were 25 hedge funds in our database with CNX holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are many gauges investors can use to watch publicly traded companies. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX).

What does the smart money think about CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 32 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 28% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Mason Hawkins’s Southeastern Asset Management had the most valuable position in CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX), worth close to $824 million, accounting for 3.7% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $109.1 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include John Burbank’s Passport Capital, Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s Bronson Point Partners and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.

Now, specific money managers have jumped into CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) headfirst. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, established the biggest position in CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX). Balyasny Asset Management had 23.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Arvind Sanger’s GeoSphere Capital Management also made a $8.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new CNX positions are Wayne Cooperman’s Cobalt Capital Management, George Soros’s Soros Fund Management, and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.

Insider trading activity in CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results exhibited by our studies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) is an important part of this process.

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