Here is What Hedge Funds Think About BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (BBEP)

BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. BBEP shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with BBEP holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are dozens of indicators investors can use to monitor publicly traded companies. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can beat the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of stimuli for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action surrounding BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP).

Hedge fund activity in BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP)

Heading into Q2, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -17% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital had the largest position in BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP), worth close to $8.7 million, accounting for 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Alyeska Investment Group, managed by Anand Parekh, which held a $6 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Judging by the fact that BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedge funds that slashed their entire stakes heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital cut the largest position of all the hedgies we key on, comprising about $10.7 million in stock., and Russell Lucas of Lucas Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $4.5 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into Q2.

How are insiders trading BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP)?

Insider buying is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP). These stocks are EV Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:EVEP), Unit Corporation (NYSE:UNT), Pacific Drilling SA (NYSE:PACD), Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG), and Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC (NYSE:VNR). This group of stocks belong to the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps resemble BBEP’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by our studies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) is an important part of this process.

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