Hedge Funds Are Buying Methanex Corporation (USA) (MEOH)

Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately.

Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH)At the moment, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to watch publicly traded companies. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can trounce the market by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a number of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the recent action regarding Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH).

What have hedge funds been doing with Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH)?

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 54% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Southpoint Capital Advisors, managed by Rob Butts and Josh Clark, holds the biggest position in Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH). Southpoint Capital Advisors has a $101.6 million position in the stock, comprising 6.5% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Passport Capital, managed by John Burbank, which held a $82 million position; 3.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Southpoint Capital Advisors, managed by Rob Butts and Josh Clark, initiated the biggest position in Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH). Southpoint Capital Advisors had 101.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $13.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, and John Fichthorn’s Dialectic Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero 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 Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH). These stocks are The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL), Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC), Cytec Industries Inc (NYSE:CYT), NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU), and RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM). All of these stocks are in the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps are similar to MEOH’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) 18 1 3
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC) 34 0 4
Cytec Industries Inc (NYSE:CYT) 22 0 12
NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) 12 2 1
RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) 12 0 5

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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