Hedge Funds Are Betting On Energizer Holdings, Inc. (ENR)

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Is Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) a buy?

Now, according to many investors, hedge funds are viewed as overrated, old financial vehicles of an era lost to time. Although there are In excess of 8,000 hedge funds in operation today, this site focuses on the bigwigs of this group, close to 525 funds. Analysts calculate that this group controls most of all hedge funds’ total assets, and by tracking their best investments, we’ve unsheathed a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (explore the details and some picks here).

Equally as necessary, bullish insider trading activity is another way to analyze the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are many incentives for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s analyze the recent info about Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR).

Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)

What does the smart money think about Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)?

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 5% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors had the biggest position in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR), worth close to $123.7 million, accounting for 0.8% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson of Adage Capital Management, with a $83.9 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital, Michael Messner’s Seminole Capital (Investment Mgmt) and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

With a general bullishness amongst the titans, specific money managers have jumped into Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) headfirst. GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, established the biggest position in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR). GAMCO Investors had 123.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management also made a $83.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ENR positions are Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital, Michael Messner’s Seminole Capital (Investment Mgmt), and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR). These stocks are Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDEN), Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV), Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL), Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS), and Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP). This group of stocks are in the personal products industry and their market caps resemble ENR’s market cap.

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