United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) has experienced an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are many metrics shareholders can use to analyze Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the key action regarding United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X).
What have hedge funds been doing with United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 5% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
Of the funds we track, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management had the biggest position in United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X), worth close to $24.5 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On AQR Capital Management’s heels is D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw, with a $20.8 million call position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Philippe Jabre’s Jabre Capital Partners.
As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Jabre Capital Partners, managed by Philippe Jabre, assembled the largest position in United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X). Jabre Capital Partners had 11.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Bruce J. Richards and Louis Hanover’s Marathon Asset Management also made a $8.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new X positions are Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management, and Colin Hall and James Davidson’s Long Oar Global Investors.
How are insiders trading United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) has experienced 2 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X). These stocks are Ternium S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TX), Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC), Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD), Grupo Simec S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:SIM), and Mechel OAO (ADR) (NYSE:MTL). This group of stocks are the members of the steel & iron industry and their market caps resemble X’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Ternium S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TX) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| Grupo Simec S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:SIM) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mechel OAO (ADR) (NYSE:MTL) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns exhibited by our studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
