Hedge Funds Are Selling Exelon Corporation (EXC)

Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. EXC investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 27 hedge funds in our database with EXC positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to track their holdings. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action encompassing Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC).

Hedge fund activity in Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC)

Heading into Q2, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -19% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Empyrean Capital Partners, managed by Michael A. Price and Amos Meron, holds the most valuable position in Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). Empyrean Capital Partners has a $144.8 million position in the stock, comprising 3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Empyrean Capital Partners, managed by Michael A. Price and Amos Meron, which held a $137.9 million call position; the fund has 2.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Jonathan Kolatch’s Redwood Capital Management.

Judging by the fact that Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) has experienced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital dropped the largest position of the 450+ funds we track, valued at about $26 million in stock.. Charles Clough’s fund, Clough Capital Partners, also cut its stock, about $17.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 5 funds in Q1.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). These stocks are NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG), NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI), CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP), Northeast Utilities System (NYSE:NU), and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG). This group of stocks are the members of the diversified utilities industry and their market caps are closest to EXC’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by our studies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) is no exception.

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