Hedge Funds Are Holding Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has experienced stagnant hedge fund interest in recent months.

In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of indicators investors can use to track their holdings. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. There are a variety of stimuli for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a peek at the recent action encompassing Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU).

Hedge fund activity in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 35 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Perry Capital, managed by Richard Perry, holds the most valuable position in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU). Perry Capital has a $66.9 million position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management, with a $50.3 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Philippe Jabre’s Jabre Capital Partners, Bruce J. Richards and Louis Hanover’s Marathon Asset Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Due to the fact that Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has faced stagnant interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there also lies a certain “tier” of money managers who sold off their full holdings in Q1. At the top of the heap, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group sold off the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, valued at about $15.3 million in stock.. George Soros’s fund, Soros Fund Management, also dumped its stock, about $13.3 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How have insiders been trading Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU). These stocks are Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ), CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX), and Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd (NYSE:TRQ). All of these stocks are in the 0 industry and their market caps are closest to BTU’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by our tactics, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds