UNS Energy Corp (UNS): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. UNS shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest of late. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with UNS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are many motivations for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the latest action encompassing UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS).

Hedge fund activity in UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS)

At Q1’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 14% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the biggest position in UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS), worth close to $16.8 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $7.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Consequently, some big names have been driving this bullishness. D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, created the most outsized position in UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS). D E Shaw had 1.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mike Vranos’s Ellington also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS)

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 5 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 UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS). These stocks are Atlantic Power Corp (NYSE:AT), IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA), Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR), Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH), and UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL). This group of stocks belong to the electric utilities industry and their market caps are similar to UNS’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by our strategies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds