Why These Five Stocks Are Gaining Today

Shares of Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) were up by roughly 12% on Friday afternoon as oil prices rose. Brent gained about 1%, while WTI Crude surged by 2.3%. The increase in oil prices not only helped to push higher the stocks of Southwestern and other energy companies, but also lifted the market as a whole.

At the end of the fourth quarter, Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) saw 32 hedge funds from our database holding shares, including Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, which disclosed ownership of 11.67 million shares as of the end of last year and further increased its stake, to 35.51 million shares, in January.

Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL)’s stock also gained more than 12% on Friday trading on the back of the surge in oil prices. However, the rise in the stock price was also aided by the announcement of the company’s fourth quarter financial results, which were made public on Thursday evening. And, while the figures were lower than usual, investors were expecting this, and were instead contempt with other elements in the report, which proved the company’s resilience amidst the downturn in the industry; cost cutting initiatives have allowed it to preserve its margins even though revenues declined considerably. Revenue fell to $959 million in the fourth quarter from $1.26 billion reported a year earlier, and EBITDA declined to $513 million from $672 million. However, the EBITDA margin of 53% was the same as the one seen a year ago.

Probably happy with the Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL)’s recent performance (the stock has gained more than 146% over the past month) are Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell. Their fund, Arrowstreet Capital, last declared holding 4.98 million shares of the company, after almost doubling its exposure during the fourth quarter of 2015.

Finally, there’s Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT), up about 10% on Friday afternoon. It seems like the surge was driven by a Goldman Sachs upgrade. The firm boosted its rating to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’, while increasing its price target to $9.75 from $8.00. The report argued that the company is likely to benefit from a recuperation in land drilling in the U.S. as the cycle turns.

Among the funds long Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT), we should highlight Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group. Over the fourth quarter of 2015, the firm almost quadrupled its exposure to the stock, taking its holding to 22.43 million shares, valued at roughly $188 million at the end of 2015.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.