Is it smart to be bullish on IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA)?
To many market players, hedge funds are perceived as overrated, old investment vehicles of an era lost to time. Although there are more than 8,000 hedge funds trading in present day, Insider Monkey looks at the crème de la crème of this group, about 525 funds. It is widely held that this group has its hands on most of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by monitoring their best equity investments, we’ve unsheathed a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a 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 trumped the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find the details here).
Equally as useful, positive insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to analyze the latest info surrounding IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA).
How are hedge funds trading IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 57% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
According to our 13F database, First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Matt McLennan, holds the most valuable position in IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA). First Eagle Investment Management has a $211.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. On First Eagle Investment Management’s heels is Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, which held a $32.6 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and David Harding’s Winton Capital Management.
Now, certain money managers were breaking ground themselves. First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Matt McLennan, created the biggest position in IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA). First Eagle Investment Management had 211.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management also made a $32.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new IDA positions are David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, and David Harding’s Winton Capital Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA) has experienced 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 IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA). These stocks are UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL), UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS), Cleco Corporation (NYSE:CNL), Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE), and Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR). All of these stocks are in the electric utilities industry and their market caps are similar to IDA’s market cap.
