Cameron International Corporation (CAM): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Is Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM) a good investment right now? We check hedge fund and billionaire investor sentiment before delving into hours of research. Hedge funds spend millions of dollars on Ivy League graduates, expert networks, and get tips from industry insiders. They fail miserably sometimes, but historically their consensus stock picks outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk factors.

Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM) was in 49 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. CAM shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 37 hedge funds in our database with CAM positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare CAM to other stocks, including Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR), Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL), and Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Follow Cameron International Corp (NYSE:CAM)

Today there are plenty of signals stock market investors can use to analyze stocks. A pair of the less utilized signals are hedge fund and insider trading activity. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outclass the market by a solid margin (see the details here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the fresh action regarding Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM).

Hedge fund activity in Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM)

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 49 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 32% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, East Side Capital (RR Partners), managed by Steven Richman, holds the biggest position in Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM). East Side Capital (RR Partners) has a $186.9 million position in the stock, comprising 8% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Paulson & Co, led by John Paulson, holding a $184 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Paulson & Co established the largest position in Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM). Pentwater Capital Management also initiated a $122.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new CAM positions are Robert Emil Zoellner’s Alpine Associates, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, and Carl Tiedemann and Michael Tiedemann’s TIG Advisors.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR), Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL), Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI), and The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to CAM’s market value.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
ETR 29 683702 10
NBL 44 1897931 7
HBI 32 1072465 -2
GPS 34 773243 13

As you can see these stocks had an average of 35 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.11 billion. That figure was $1.78 billion in CAM’s case. Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) is the most popular stock in this table with a total of 44 funds reporting long positions. On the other hand Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is the least popular one with only 29 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Cameron International Corporation (NYSE:CAM) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.