Since Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers who were dropping their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. Interestingly, Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management said goodbye to the biggest position of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling about $410.8 million in stock. Barry Rosenstein’s fund, JANA Partners, also cut its stock, about $111 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 12 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). We will take a look at Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ), Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO), and ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG). This group of stocks’ market values match SYF’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA | 33 | 1302418 | 0 |
| WPZ | 11 | 478129 | -2 |
| SCCO | 12 | 75412 | -1 |
| CAG | 50 | 2764576 | 9 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 27 funds with long positions at the end of September and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.16 billion. That figure was $4.02 billion in SYF’s case. ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is the most popular stock in this table with 50 funds reporting ownership. On the other hand Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
Disclosure: None
