Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)

Is Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) worth your attention right now? Investors who are in the know are turning less bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience

Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)

To most investors, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old investment tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at the moment, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the bigwigs of this club, about 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by monitoring their highest performing investments, we have found a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year 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 beaten the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see the details here).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are plenty of motivations for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a gander at the latest action encompassing Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR).

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

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 24 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Atlantic Investment Management, managed by Alexander Roepers, holds the largest position in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR). Atlantic Investment Management has a $176 million position in the stock, comprising 14.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Atlantic Investment Management’s heels is Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $103 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Charles de Vaulx’s International Value Advisers.

Due to the fact that Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedgies who were dropping their entire stakes last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group sold off the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, worth about $16 million in stock., and Alexander Mitchell of Scopus Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $10 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time frame, Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) is no exception.

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