Is Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) a great investment right now? The best stock pickers are in a bearish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions dropped by 5 lately.
In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are seen as worthless, outdated investment tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation today, we look at the moguls of this group, close to 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their best stock picks, we have deciphered a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped 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 topped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the recent action surrounding Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR).
How are hedge funds trading Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -19% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Alexander Roepers’s Atlantic Investment Management had the biggest position in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR), worth close to $130.7 million, accounting for 12% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, which held a $128.9 million position; 0.8% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Michael Messner’s Seminole Capital (Investment Mgmt) and Charles de Vaulx’s International Value Advisers.
Judging by the fact that Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) has witnessed a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of money managers that elected to cut their full holdings in Q1. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies we track, worth an estimated $18.5 million in stock.. Neil Chriss’ fund, Hutchin Hill Capital, also dumped its stock, about $3.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR). These stocks are Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDEN), Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV), Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL), Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS), and Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP). This group of stocks belong to the personal products industry and their market caps match ENR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDEN) | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) | 30 | 0 | 12 |
| Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS) | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) | 25 | 1 | 1 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) is no exception.
