Hedge Funds Are Selling Resolute Energy Corp (REN)

Is Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN) a great stock to buy now? The smart money is taking a pessimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets were trimmed by 1 in recent months.

To the average investor, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to watch the equity markets. 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 top picks of the best money managers can outpace the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the key action surrounding Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN).

How are hedge funds trading Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -8% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp had the largest position in Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN), worth close to $125.5 million, comprising 1.7% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Sageview Capital, managed by Edward Gilhuly and Scott Stuart, which held a $24.4 million position; the fund has 7.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Since Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, we can see that there exists a select few money managers who sold off their entire stakes in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Russell Lucas’s Lucas Capital Management said goodbye to the largest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, comprising about $3.4 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also sold off its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in Q1.

How have insiders been trading Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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