How do we determine whether Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM) makes for a good investment at the moment? We analyze the sentiment of a select group of the very best investors in the world, who spend immense amounts of time and resources studying companies. They may not always be right (no one is), but data shows that their consensus long positions have historically outperformed the market when we adjust for known risk factors.
Is Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM) a buy here? The best stock pickers appear to be more confident after shares of the company plummeted by 72% in the third quarter. The number of bullish hedge fund positions rose by 2 during that quarter, though collectively, the value of their holdings fell by 75%, slightly more than the stock’s tumble. Investors tracked by Insider Monkey held 18.80% of the firm’s shares on September 30. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB), A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE:AHC), and Radio One, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROIAK) to gather more data points.
Follow Triangle Petroleum Corp (NYSEMKT:TPLM)
Follow Triangle Petroleum Corp (NYSEMKT:TPLM)
In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are perceived as worthless, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8,000 funds in operation at present, our experts hone in on the upper echelon of this club, about 700 funds. These money managers manage bulk of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by shadowing their highest performing equity investments, Insider Monkey has unsheathed a few investment strategies that have historically outrun the market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per year for a decade in their back tests.
Keeping this in mind, let’s view the recent action regarding Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM).
How have hedgies been trading Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a 17% boost from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or had already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Southeastern Asset Management, managed by Mason Hawkins, holds the most valuable position in Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM). Southeastern Asset Management has a $16 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting in the No. 2 spot is Steel Partners, managed by Warren Lichtenstein, which holds a $1.4 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish contain Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners, D E Shaw, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
As industrywide interest jumped, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Renaissance Technologies created the biggest position in Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM). Renaissance Technologies had $0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael Platt and William Reeves’ BlueCrest Capital Mgmt. also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM) but similarly valued. These stocks are Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB), A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE:AHC), Radio One, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROIAK), and Jernigan Capital Inc (NYSE:JCAP). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to TPLM’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| RVSB | 4 | 9914 | 1 |
| AHC | 5 | 3354 | -2 |
| ROIAK | 8 | 11302 | -1 |
| JCAP | 5 | 6667 | 1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 6 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $8 million. That figure was $20 million in TPLM’s case. Radio One, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROIAK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVSB) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT:TPLM) 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 while oil is still cheap.
