What Do Hedge Funds Think of Newpark Resources Inc (NR)?

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Due to the fact that Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) has faced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there exists a select few fund managers who sold off their positions entirely heading into Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the largest stake of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $9.4 million in stock. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s fund, Arrowstreet Capital, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q4.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP), Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC), Centrue Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CFCB), and AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to NR’s market valuation.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
BBEP 5 4555 -1
MCC 4 9879 -1
TRUE 11 69465 -5
AKS 19 53452 -1

As you can see these stocks had an average of 9.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $34 million. That figure was $25 million in NR’s case. AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard AKS might be a better candidate to consider a long position.

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