Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (IMO): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?: Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), Hess Corp. (HES)

Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately.

Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO)

To the average investor, there are a multitude of methods market participants can use to analyze the equity markets. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the key action encompassing Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO).

Hedge fund activity in Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO)

At year’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Daniel Bubis’s Tetrem Capital Management had the most valuable position in Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO), worth close to $90 million, accounting for 2.7% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $22 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates.

Because Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO) has witnessed falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there were a few money managers that slashed their full holdings in Q4. At the top of the heap, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the biggest stake of all the hedgies we track, totaling an estimated $1 million in stock., and David Costen Haley of HBK Investments was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to less than $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in Q4.

How have insiders been trading Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO)?

Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO). These stocks are Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), and Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC). This group of stocks are the members of the oil & gas refining & marketing industry and their market caps are similar to IMO’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) 40 0 1
Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) 35 8 8
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) 47 0 10
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) 39 0 1
Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) 42 0 6

With the returns demonstrated by our strategies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Imperial Oil Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:IMO) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds