Is Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) A Good Stock To Buy?

With the third-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the fourth quarter. One of these stocks was Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR).

Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. 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 Cabelas Inc (NYSE:CAB), Research In BlackBerry Ltd(NASDAQ:BBRY), and LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) to gather more data points.

Today there are a lot of tools stock market investors employ to value their holdings. A pair of the most innovative tools are hedge fund and insider trading interest. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can trounce the market by a healthy margin (see the details here).

Now, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action surrounding Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR).

What have hedge funds been doing with Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 36 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -16% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group has the biggest position in Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR), worth close to $198.8 million, corresponding to 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with an $92.1 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish consist of Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital and Ryan Heslop and Ariel Warszawski’s Firefly Value Partners.

Since Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedgies who were dropping their positions entirely in the third quarter. Intriguingly, John Smith Clark’s Southpoint Capital Advisors dropped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds followed by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $32.2 million in stock, and John Labanowski’s Brenham Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $32.2 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 7 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR). These stocks are Cabelas Inc (NYSE:CAB), Research In BlackBerry Ltd(NASDAQ:BBRY), LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO), and Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to GPOR’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 16 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $270 million. That figure was $692 million in GPOR’s case. Cabelas Inc (NYSE:CAB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) 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.