Why Investors Are Buzzing About Williams Companies, Twitter, Walt Disney, and Two More Today

All eyes are on OPEC as the group, along with Russia, gather for an informal meeting in Algeria. Currently the latest news out of the conference is rather bearish, with Reuters reporting that Iran wants the right to produce 4.1 million-to-4.2 million barrels per day before agreeing to any freeze.

In this article, we’ll examine why energy-associated names likeNordic American Tanker Ltd (NYSE:NAT), DTE Energy Co (NYSE:DTE), and Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB), as well as two other stocks in the form of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) and Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), are each grabbing the spotlight this morning. We’ll also analyze how the smart money is positioned in each stock using the latest 13F regulatory data.

At Insider Monkey, we track over 750 hedge funds, whose quarterly 13F filings we analyze and determine their collective sentiment towards several thousand stocks. However, our research has shown that the best strategy is to follow hedge funds into their small-cap picks. This approach can allow monthly returns of nearly 95 basis points above the market, as we determined through extensive backtests covering the period between 1999 and 2012 (see the details here).

Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NYSE:NAT) shares are over 7% in the red after the company announced an underwritten public offering of 11 million common shares, in addition to granting underwriters a 30-day option to buy an additional 1.65 million common shares. Nordic American Tankers plans to use the net proceeds to finance the expansion of its fleet and for general corporate purposes. The company may also use the proceeds to repay borrowings under a revolving credit facility. Neil Chriss‘ Hutchin Hill Capital established a new position of 66,200 shares in Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NYSE:NAT) during the second quarter.

DTE Energy Co (NYSE:DTE) is in the spotlight after the company announced that it will buy 100% of Appalachia Gathering System and 40% of Stonewall Gas Gathering from M3 Midstream. Moreover, DTE will buy 15% of SGG from Vega Energy Partners. In return for the midstream natural gas assets, DTE will pay a collective $1.3 billion to the respective former owners. DTE’s management believes that the deals will “provide synergies over time” and are “consistent with DTE’s growth plans.” The transactions are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016 and will not materially change DTE’s current business mix. Of the 749 hedge funds that we track which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, 15 of them were long $417.79 million worth of DTE Energy Co (NYSE:DTE) shares at the end of June, which accounted for 2.30% of the float.

On the next page we’ll examine the latest on Williams Companies, Twitter, and Walt Disney.

Activist Keith Meister of Corvex Capital has withdrawn from an impending proxy fight after Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) announced plans to change its Board composition by appointing Stephen Chazen and Peter Ragauss as new Board members and promising that three current Directors won’t run again during the company’s November annual meeting. In addition, Williams may add two more Independent Directors to the Board before said meeting. Meister said in a statement that his fund looks forward to working with the overhauled Board to unlock the company’s significant untapped value. 58 funds, including Corvex, were long Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) at the end of June, up by six funds from the end of March.

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is again in the spotlight after Bloomberg reported that Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is evaluating a potential bid for the company. According to the article, Disney is working with a financial adviser as it mulls over just such a bid. Analysts think that Disney could potentially use Twitter as a distribution play to help offset the secular decline in its ESPN unit. Twitter has rather successfully shown live streams of NFL games through its platform, 10 of which will be streamed during the current NFL season. In addition, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is also on Disney’s Board of Directors.

30 hedge funds that we track were long Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) at the end of June, while 44 were long Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS).

Disclosure: None