Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (BWP): Hedge Funds Are Bullish and Insiders Are Bearish, What Should You Do?

Page 1 of 2

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP) shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP)

According to most investors, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, old investment tools of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the moguls of this club, around 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by monitoring their highest performing investments, we have uncovered a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outpaced the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (check out a sample of our picks).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are lots of stimuli for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP).

What have hedge funds been doing with Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 20% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP). Renaissance Technologies has a $1.9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by John Zaro of Bourgeon Capital, with a $0.8 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Scott Scher & Michael Prober’s Clovis Capital Management and John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, established the most valuable position in Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP). Citadel Investment Group had 0.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Scott Scher & Michael Prober’s Clovis Capital Management also initiated a $0.4 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new BWP position is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

What have insiders been doing with Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP) has experienced zero 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 Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP). These stocks are Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:EEP), Cheniere Energy Partners LP (NYSEAMEX:CQP), Western Gas Partners, LP (NYSE:WES), Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE:BPL), and Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE:SXL). This group of stocks belong to the oil & gas pipelines industry and their market caps are similar to BWP’s market cap.

Page 1 of 2