Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. EGN investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with EGN positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are dozens of gauges market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of incentives for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the key action regarding Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN).
Hedge fund activity in Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN)
In preparation for this year, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management had the most valuable position in Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN), worth close to $32 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, which held a $27 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Dan Loeb’s Third Point, George Soros’s Soros Fund Management and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
Since Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few fund managers who were dropping their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors cut the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we track, totaling about $19 million in stock.. Ken Griffin’s fund, Citadel Investment Group, also dumped its stock, about $14 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What have insiders been doing with Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN). These stocks are WPX Energy Inc (NYSE:WPX), Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE:KOS), Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR), Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS), and SM Energy Co. (NYSE:SM). This group of stocks are in the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps are similar to EGN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| WPX Energy Inc (NYSE:WPX) | 24 | 1 | 0 |
| Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE:KOS) | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) | 20 | 0 | 1 |
| Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS) | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| SM Energy Co. (NYSE:SM) | 16 | 0 | 3 |
With the returns demonstrated by our research, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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