Why These Stocks Are Gaining On High Volume Today

Although the NASDAQ index is deep in the red and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are close to flat, shares of Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE), CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX), Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), UniPixel Inc (NASDAQ:UNXL), and Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc (NYSE:SC) are bucking the trend, with each soaring in midday trading. In this article, we’ll analyze why these five stocks are rising and delve into SEC filings to see how the world’s greatest investors are positioned in each of them.

Our research determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor to beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see the details here).

Energy Transfer Equity’s Comeback Continues 

Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE) shares have surged by 10% today after the company announced a quarterly cash distribution of $0.285 per share, to be paid on May 19 to shareholders of record as of May 6. That’s $1.14 per unit on an annualized basis and a 16% increase over the year-ago payment, while being unchanged from the payment made on February 4. Energy Transfer Equity shares have been on a tear since early February and are now almost 200% above its 2016 lows as crude prices rise higher, though they’re still down by 3% year-to-date. The company plans to release its full earnings report for the first quarter on May 4, after the market close. Richard Perry‘s Perry Capital was one of the top shareholders of Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE) at the end of 2015, from our database of 786 active hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CONSOL Energy Surges on Earnings

CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) is 7.8% in the green after reporting a better-than-expected loss yesterday. For the first quarter, the natural gas and coal producer lost $0.07 per share on sales of $558.51 million, beating estimates of a $0.09 per share loss, but widely missing revenue estimates of $675.14 million. EBITDA from continuing operations was $133 million for the quarter, down from $234 million in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was a little bit better, coming in at $176 million, down from $242 million in the first quarter of 2015. The company produced a record 97.5 Bcfe and its liquidity rose to $1.3 billion. Organic free cash flow from continuing operations excluding the recent sale of the Buchanan mine was $35 million. David Einhorn‘s Greenlight Capital owned almost 30 million shares of CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) at the end of the fourth quarter.

On the next page we examine why Transocean LTD, UniPixel Inc, and Santander are making moves today.

Transocean LTD Rises on Higher Crude Prices

Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) is 4.8% higher as the rallying WTI and Brent prices have improved sector sentiment. Although today’s EIA report indicated that U.S oil inventories rose last week by around 2 million barrels, U.S domestic crude production declined during the week, by 15,000 barrels to 8.938 million barrels. If the U.S is the swing producer or if Saudi Arabia’s goal is to send U.S production lower, the falling U.S production is surely a bullish sign. Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) will need crude prices to rally substantially more for demand for its services to surge, however. Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital LP was a top shareholder of the company as of the end of December.

Traders Bid Up UniPixel

UniPixel Inc (NASDAQ:UNXL)‘s stock is 9% in the green after the company announced two additional design wins for two new 2-in-1 convertible laptops that will feature the company’s XTouch and Diamond Guard products. UniPixel added the new customer this year. Financial details were not disclosed. As with all micro-cap stocks, investors should undertake due diligence before making a buying decision. Three elite funds that Insider Monkey tracks owned $140,000 worth of UniPixel Inc (NASDAQ:UNXL) shares at the end of 2015. 

Santander in the Green

Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc (NYSE:SC) beat earnings estimates by $0.03 per share with first quarter EPS of $0.59 and its stock is 7.6% higher because of it. Net finance and other interest income came in at $1.3 billion, while total auto originations ended the quarter at $6.8 billion. Average managed assets was $53.2 billion for the quarter, up by 19% year-over-year. Of the 786 active funds that we track, 31 of them were long Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc (NYSE:SC) on December 31, owning $768.85 million worth of its shares, down from 35 funds with $1.04 billion in holdings on September 30.

Disclosure: None