CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.
If you’d ask most market participants, hedge funds are perceived as unimportant, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the crème de la crème of this group, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by keeping an eye on their top stock picks, we have revealed a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (check out a sample of our picks).
Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are many stimuli for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX).
What have hedge funds been doing with CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -4% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Southeastern Asset Management, managed by Mason Hawkins, holds the most valuable position in CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX). Southeastern Asset Management has a $802 million position in the stock, comprising 3.5% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Marathon Asset Management, managed by Bruce J. Richards and Louis Hanover, which held a $55 million call position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, John Burbank’s Passport Capital and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Since CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedgies who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, John Hurley’s Cavalry Asset Management dumped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling close to $20 million in stock., and Jeffrey Vinik of Vinik Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $14 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter.
How are insiders trading CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) applies perfectly to this mantra.
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