Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP) investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months.
At the moment, there are tons of methods investors can use to track Mr. Market. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).
Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a peek at the key action regarding Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP).
How are hedge funds trading Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 29% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Starboard Value LP, managed by Jeffrey Smith, holds the biggest position in Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP). Starboard Value LP has a $78.7 million position in the stock, comprising 7.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Jay Petschek and Steven Major of Corsair Capital Management, with a $29.9 million position; 4.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that are bullish include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Stephen Loukas, David A. Lorber, Zachary George’s FrontFour Capital Group and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have jumped into Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP) headfirst. GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, established the largest position in Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP). GAMCO Investors had 1.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP) has seen 3 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP). These stocks are Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI), P.H. Glatfelter Company (NYSE:GLT), Boise Inc. (NYSE:BZ), Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC), and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE:NP). This group of stocks are the members of the paper & paper products industry and their market caps are similar to WPP’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| P.H. Glatfelter Company (NYSE:GLT) | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| Boise Inc. (NYSE:BZ) | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE:NP) | 5 | 0 | 3 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
