Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. PVA investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with PVA positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are tons of indicators shareholders can use to track their holdings. A couple of the most useful 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 top hedge fund managers can outpace the market by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action encompassing Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA).
What have hedge funds been doing with Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 63% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, holds the largest position in Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA). AQR Capital Management has a $12 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $12 million position; the fund has 0% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital.
Now, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, established the most outsized position in Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA). Highbridge Capital Management had 2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital also initiated a $2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new PVA investors: Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners, Mike Vranos’s Ellington, and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.
How are insiders trading Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA) has seen 4 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA). These stocks are VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC), Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE:PHX), Warren Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:WRES), Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ:AXAS), and Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:IVAN). This group of stocks belong to the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps match PVA’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE:PHX) | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Warren Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:WRES) | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ:AXAS) | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:IVAN) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA) applies perfectly to this mantra.
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