To most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, outdated financial tools of years past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the leaders of this club, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group oversees the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by monitoring their top equity investments, we have spotted a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year 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 outclassed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).
Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a variety of motivations for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action regarding Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG).
What does the smart money think about Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -11% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management had the biggest position in Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG), worth close to $19.8 million, comprising 0.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $6.5 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
Seeing as Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there were a few hedgies that decided to sell off their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors sold off the largest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, comprising close to $0.4 million in stock. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the first quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG). These stocks are Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP), Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO), AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:APU), AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE:GAS), and Questar Corporation (NYSE:STR). This group of stocks belong to the gas utilities industry and their market caps are similar to TEG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP) | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:APU) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE:GAS) | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Questar Corporation (NYSE:STR) | 12 | 0 | 2 |
With the results demonstrated by our research, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:TEG) applies perfectly to this mantra.
