BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. BBEP has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with BBEP holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of motivations for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if investors know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action surrounding BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP).
How have hedgies been trading BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, 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 few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, Magnetar Capital, managed by Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser, holds the most valuable position in BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP). Magnetar Capital has a $17 million position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Richard Driehaus of Driehaus Capital, with a $11 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Russell Lucas’s Lucas Capital Management, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Due to the fact that BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there were a few money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the biggest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, worth an estimated $5 million in stock. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the year.
Insider trading activity in BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine 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 are the members of the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps are closest to BBEP’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| EV Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:EVEP) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Unit Corporation (NYSE:UNT) | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Pacific Drilling SA (NYSE:PACD) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC (NYSE:VNR) | 4 | 3 | 2 |
With the returns shown by our tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) is no exception.
Click here to learn more about Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Newsletter
Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 37% between September 2012 and March 2013 versus 12.9% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.
