Is Scorpio Tankers Inc. (STNG) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) was in 26 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. STNG has seen an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with STNG positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. There are lots of stimuli for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action regarding Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG).

What have hedge funds been doing with Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 117% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Kensico Capital, managed by Michael Lowenstein, holds the biggest position in Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG). Kensico Capital has a $83.8 million position in the stock, comprising 2.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Kensico Capital’s heels is Monarch Alternative Capital, managed by Michael Weinstock, which held a $32.5 million position; the fund has 19.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Dinakar Singh’s TPG-AXON Management LP, Daniel Gold’s QVT Financial and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Now, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Monarch Alternative Capital, managed by Michael Weinstock, initiated the most outsized position in Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG). Monarch Alternative Capital had 32.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Dinakar Singh’s TPG-AXON Management LP also made a $31.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are James Dinan’s York Capital Management, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, and Remy Trafelet’s Trafelet Capital.

How are insiders trading Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) 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 Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG). These stocks are Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NYSE:NMM), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW), Costamare Inc (NYSE:CMRE), and Alexander & Baldwin Holdings Inc (NYSE:MATX). This group of stocks are the members of the shipping industry and their market caps are similar to STNG’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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