Is J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) was in 36 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. JCP investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 33 hedge funds in our database with JCP positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to track Mr. Market. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. There are a variety of reasons for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the key action regarding J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP).

Hedge fund activity in J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)

At Q1’s end, a total of 36 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 9% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Pershing Square, managed by Bill Ackman, holds the most valuable position in J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Pershing Square has a $590.4 million position in the stock, comprising 5.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital, with a $144.4 million position; 1.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC, and Patrick McCormack’s Tiger Consumer Management.

Consequently, some big names have jumped into J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) headfirst. Tiger Global Management LLC, managed by Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan, assembled the most valuable position in J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Tiger Global Management LLC had 80.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Christian Leone’s Luxor Capital Group also made a $68 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new JCP positions are Patrick McCormack’s Tiger Consumer Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Michael Platt and William Reeves’s BlueCrest Capital Mgmt..

What have insiders been doing with J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). These stocks are Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc (NASDAQ:SHOS), Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS), Saks Inc (NYSE:SKS), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD), and Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS). All of these stocks are in the department stores industry and their market caps are closest to JCP’s market cap.