Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. SPN investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund sentiment recently. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with SPN positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of indicators market participants can use to monitor publicly traded companies. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are a variety of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action encompassing Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN).
What have hedge funds been doing with Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, holds the largest position in Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN). SAC Capital Advisors has a $160 million position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $65 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management and Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital.
Since Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few hedgies who were dropping their entire stakes at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that David Nierenberg’s Nierenberg Investment Management dumped the biggest stake of all the hedgies we track, worth an estimated $26 million in stock., and Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds at the end of the year.
What have insiders been doing with Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN)?
Insider buying is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN). These stocks are Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE:CLB), RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES), Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ), MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU), and Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE:OIS). This group of stocks are in the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps resemble SPN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE:CLB) | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ) | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU) | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE:OIS) | 17 | 1 | 2 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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