Hedge Funds Are Buying Edison International (EIX)

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. EIX investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with EIX holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are many metrics market participants can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of reasons for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Edison International (NYSE:EIX).

What have hedge funds been doing with Edison International (NYSE:EIX)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 5% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the most valuable position in Edison International (NYSE:EIX). Adage Capital Management has a $131.2 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, which held a $101.9 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Two Sigma Advisors, managed by John Overdeck and David Siegel, created the most outsized position in Edison International (NYSE:EIX). Two Sigma Advisors had 24.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp also initiated a $0.7 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new EIX positions are Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

How are insiders trading Edison International (NYSE:EIX)?

Insider buying is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Edison International (NYSE:EIX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 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 Edison International (NYSE:EIX). These stocks are PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), Huaneng Power International Inc (ADR) (NYSE:HNP), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE), and Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP). This group of stocks are the members of the electric utilities industry and their market caps are similar to EIX’s market cap.

Company Name	# of Hedge Funds	# of Insiders Buying	# of Insiders Selling
PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)	23	0	8
Huaneng Power International Inc (ADR) (NYSE:HNP)	5	0	0
Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)	11	1	1
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)	16	0	10
Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KEP)	9	0	0

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Edison International (NYSE:EIX) is no exception.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds