Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Forest Oil Corporation (FST)?

Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.

In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a number of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST).

How are hedge funds trading Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 5% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

Of the funds we track, Jeffrey Altman’s Owl Creek Asset Management had the most valuable position in Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST), worth close to $58.9 million, comprising 1.7% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $45.8 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Greg Boland’s West Face Capital, Don Morgan’s Brigade Capital and Michael Lowenstein’s Kensico Capital.

As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Saba Capital, managed by Boaz Weinstein, established the biggest position in Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST). Saba Capital had 6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Youlia Miteva’s Proxima Capital Management also initiated a $5.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new FST investors: Thomas M. Fitzgerald’s Longbow Capital Partners, Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST). These stocks are Midstates Petroleum Company Inc (NYSE:MPO), Contango Oil & Gas Company (NYSEAMEX:MCF), Swift Energy Company (NYSE:SFY), and TransGlobe Energy Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TGA). This group of stocks are the members of the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps match FST’s market cap.