Noble Energy, Inc. (NBL): Hedge Funds and Insiders Are Bearish, What Should You Do?

Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of indicators market participants can use to analyze stocks. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can beat the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of reasons for an upper level exec to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the key action encompassing Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL).

What have hedge funds been doing with Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 27 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -7% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Eagle Capital Management, managed by Boykin Curry, holds the most valuable position in Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL). Eagle Capital Management has a $765.9 million position in the stock, comprising 4.6% of its 13F portfolio. On Eagle Capital Management’s heels is Magnetar Capital, managed by Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser, which held a $196.6 million call position; the fund has 6.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Judging by the fact that Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few hedge funds who were dropping their entire stakes heading into Q2. Interestingly, Joe DiMenna’s ZWEIG DIMENNA PARTNERS sold off the biggest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at close to $16.3 million in stock., and Mark Kingdon of Kingdon Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $12.7 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds heading into Q2.

How have insiders been trading Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL)?

Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL). These stocks are Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG), Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), and Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN). This group of stocks are the members of the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps resemble NBL’s market cap.

With the returns shown by the aforementioned studies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) is no exception.

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