Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (BTE) Anymore

Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.

To the average investor, there are dozens of metrics market participants can use to analyze stocks. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outperform the market by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE).

How have hedgies been trading Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the most valuable position in Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE), worth close to $8 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Sprott Asset Management, managed by Eric Sprott, which held a $3.8 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Daniel Bubis’s Tetrem Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Due to the fact that Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE) has experienced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few fund managers who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Russell Lucas’s Lucas Capital Management sold off the largest investment of the 450+ funds we monitor, valued at an estimated $0.4 million in stock. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Insider trading activity in Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Baytex Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:BTE). These stocks are SM Energy Co. (NYSE:SM), Cimarex Energy Co (NYSE:XEC), Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE:PXP), Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE:KOS), and National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE:NFG). All of these stocks are in the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps match BTE’s market cap.