How do we determine whether Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) makes for a good investment at the moment? We analyze the sentiment of a select group of the very best investors in the world, who spend immense amounts of time and resources studying companies. They may not always be right (no one is), but data shows that their consensus long positions have historically outperformed the market when we adjust for known risk factors.
Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) has seen an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. At the end of this article we will also compare BLL to other stocks including Markwest Energy Partners LP (NYSE:MWE), Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc (NYSE:Q), and ArcelorMittal (ADR) (NYSE:MT) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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With all of this in mind, we’re going to go over the fresh action surrounding Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL).
How have hedgies been trading Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL)?
At Q3’s end, a total of 38 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 31% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Senator Investment Group, managed by Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin, holds the largest position in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL). Senator Investment Group has a $217.7 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Richard Perry of Perry Capital, with a $216.3 million position; the fund has 8.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other professional money managers with similar optimism encompass Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, Keith Meister’s Corvex Capital and Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management.
Consequently, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Corvex Capital, managed by Keith Meister, created the biggest position in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL). Corvex Capital had $170.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management also initiated a $67.1 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BLL investors: Noah Levy and Eugene Dozortsev’s Newtyn Management, Matthew Mark’s Jet Capital Investors, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL). We will take a look at Markwest Energy Partners LP (NYSE:MWE), Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc (NYSE:Q), ArcelorMittal (ADR) (NYSE:MT), and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp (NYSE:WAB). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble BLL’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| MWE | 17 | 412658 | 4 |
| Q | 34 | 466908 | 5 |
| MT | 18 | 231752 | -4 |
| WAB | 27 | 297771 | -6 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 24 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $352 million. That figure was $1216 million in BLL’s case. Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc (NYSE:Q) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Markwest Energy Partners LP (NYSE:MWE) is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
