Energizer Holdings, Inc. (ENR): Hedge Funds Taking Some Chips Off The Table

At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (Recession is Imminent: We Need A Travel Ban NOW). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each stock might be going. In this article, we will take a closer look at hedge fund sentiment towards Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR).

Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. Our calculations also showed that ENR isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings and see the video for a quick look at the top 5 stocks).

Video: Watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.

At the moment there are a large number of indicators shareholders have at their disposal to assess stocks. A couple of the most innovative indicators are hedge fund and insider trading moves. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see the details here).

At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, 2020’s unprecedented market conditions provide us with the highest number of trading opportunities in a decade. So we are checking out trades like this one. We interview hedge fund managers and ask them about their best ideas. If you want to find out the best healthcare stock to buy right now, you can watch our latest hedge fund manager interview here. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. Our best call in 2020 was shorting the market when the S&P 500 was trading at 3150 after realizing the coronavirus pandemic’s significance before most investors. With all of this in mind let’s view the latest hedge fund action encompassing Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR).

What does smart money think about Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -5% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in ENR over the last 18 quarters. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

Among these funds, GAMCO Investors held the most valuable stake in Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR), which was worth $58 million at the end of the third quarter. On the second spot was Armistice Capital which amassed $26.4 million worth of shares. Highbridge Capital Management, Citadel Investment Group, and Ancora Advisors were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Armistice Capital allocated the biggest weight to Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR), around 1.63% of its 13F portfolio. Highbridge Capital Management is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 0.77 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to ENR.

Judging by the fact that Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) has faced declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of money managers who were dropping their full holdings in the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Ryan Tolkin (CIO)’s Schonfeld Strategic Advisors said goodbye to the biggest investment of the 750 funds watched by Insider Monkey, worth close to $9.6 million in stock, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $5.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in the first quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at EnerSys (NYSE:ENS), Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA), Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE), and BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to ENR’s market cap.

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 25.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $274 million. That figure was $120 million in ENR’s case. Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed that top 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 41.4% in 2019 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 10.1 percentage points. These stocks gained 12.2% in 2020 through June 17th and still beat the market by 14.8 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on ENR as the stock returned 58.3% during the second quarter and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.