Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (KEP)

Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. KEP investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with KEP positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are many gauges shareholders can use to analyze stocks. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are lots of reasons for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action surrounding Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP).

How have hedgies been trading Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -10% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital had the biggest position in Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP), worth close to $31.5 million, comprising 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. On Arrowstreet Capital’s heels is Jeffrey Vinik of Vinik Asset Management, with a $24 million position; the fund has 0.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management.

Since Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely in Q1. Interestingly, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies sold off the largest stake of all the hedgies we watch, totaling an estimated $2.4 million in stock., and Bruce Kovner of Caxton Associates LP was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in Q1.

What have insiders been doing with Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, 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 Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP). These stocks are PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), Edison International (NYSE:EIX), PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED), and FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE). All of these stocks are in the electric utilities industry and their market caps resemble KEP’s market cap.