QEP Resources Inc (QEP): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Because QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there were a few fund managers that slashed their full holdings in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors sold off the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $77.5 million in stock, and Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $45.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 5 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) but similarly valued. These stocks are Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI), CalAtlantic Group Inc (NYSE:CAA), Colony Financial Inc (NYSE:CLNY), and Rice Energy Inc (NYSE:RICE). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to QEP’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 22 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $387 million. That figure was $341 million in QEP’s case. Colony Financial Inc (NYSE:CLNY) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand CalAtlantic Group Inc (NYSE:CAA) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. In comparison, QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP), with 21 bullish hedge fund positions, is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This may imply it is not a good buying opportunity; therefore, we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are collectively most fond of. In this regard, CLNY might be a better candidate to consider a long position.