Hedge Funds’ Top Energy Picks Show Strong Gains

#2 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)

– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 61

– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $2.57 billion

Moving on, the number of investors covered by us with long positions in Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) came down by nine and the aggregate value of their holdings in the company fell by $810 million during the fourth quarter. However, billionaire David E. Shaw‘s firm D.E. Shaw became increasingly bullish on Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) during the same period, increasing its stake in the company by 52% to 2.4 million shares. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s stock ended the first quarter 4% in the red, but it has moved higher this month and currently trades flat for 2016. In spite of the large amount of debt on the company’s balance sheet, some analysts consider Anadarko Petroleum as the best play in the oil and gas sector currently. Their bullishness stems from the rates of returns of 30%-100% that the company is targeting on back of tieback opportunities and its growing focus on assets with a lower cost base. On March 11, analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and increased their price target on it to $58 from $50.

#1 Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 40

– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $1.15 billion

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was the favorite energy stock the investors in our database at the beginning of 2016 and is also the only stock in this list that saw an increase in its popularity among smart money investors during the fourth quarter. The ownership of the company among funds tracked by us increased by nine, whereas the aggregate value of their holdings saw a marginal decline of 3.3% during that period.  Among the funds that initiated a stake in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) during the fourth quarter was Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann‘s 3G Capital, which purchased 1 million shares of the company. Like most energy stocks, Exxon Mobil Corporation’s stock also appreciated during the first three months of this year and ended the first quarter up by 8.20%. The oil and natural gas giant reported is scheduled to report its first quarter numbers by the end of this month and the consensus among analysts include EPS of $0.33 on revenue of $47.05 billion. For the same quarter of the previous financial year, Exxon posted EPS of $1.17 on revenue of $67.60 billion. The 27 leading analysts on the Street who cover the stock currently have an average rating of ‘Hold’ and an average price target of $81.15.

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