Six Popular Energy Sector Stocks Amongst Hedge Funds

The energy sector has been volatile because of unstable natural gas prices, making it difficult to invest in. It may help investors to look at top hedge funds holdings to figure out how to trade this sector. Here are six popular energy stocks amongst hedge funds:

BP provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants for engines, and petrochemical products. One of the 65 Hedge funds that are invested in BP is Baupost Group. Seth Klarman's hedge fund is the 11th largest in the world. As of March 31, Baupost Group owns 9,320,900 shares of BP, which makes up about 14% of its portfolio. On July 12, BP paid $13 million to Texas refinery penalties. Year-to-date, BP is trading down about 6%. Sources: http://www.insidermonkey.com/insider-trading/company/b+p+plc/313807/hedge-funds/#/ffp=2012-03-31&fot=4&fso=1 http://www.insidermonkey.com/hedge-fund/baupost+group/7/

Schlumberger supplies technology and supplies to the oil and gas industry worldwide. As of March 31, 62 hedge funds were invested in the company. One prominent investment fund that held shares is Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global. The hedge fund owns 3,257,817 shares of Schlumberger, which makes up about 1.85% of portfolio. Schlumberger is announcing second quarter earnings on July 20. Analysts are expecting higher profits for the company in comparison to the same period last year. Sources http://www.insidermonkey.com/insider-trading/company/schlumberger+ltd/87347/hedge-funds/#/ffp=2012-03-31&fot=4&fso=1 http://www.forbes.com/sites/narrativescience/2012/07/17/forbes-earnings-preview-schlumberger-4/?partner=yahootix

Exxon Mobile Corp explores and produces crude oil in natural gas worldwide. It is one of the largest energy sector stocks with a market capitalization of $397.94 billion. As of the end of March, there are 60 hedge funds that have holdings of Exxon. Ken Fishcer's company, Fisher Asset Management, holds 6,664,506 shares of Exxon, which makes up 1.54% of portfolio. Ken fischer has written seven books, writes for Forbes, and founded his private investment firm. Exxon increasing reliance on natural gas brought down profits in June. On Monday, Deutsche Bank downgraded Exxon from Buy to Hold. Source: http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2012/07/16/exxon-downgraded-losing-profitability-going-into-q2/?mod=yahoobarrons, http://www.insidermonkey.com/insider-trading/company/exxon+mobil+corp/34088/hedge-funds/#/offset=0&ffp=2012-03-31&fot=7&fso=1 http://www.insidermonkey.com/hedge-fund/fisher+asset+management/11/

Valero is an independent petroleum refining and marketing company. David Tepper's hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, is one of 50 investment funds that hold shares of Valero. Appaloosa Management owns 2,552,161 shares, which is about 1.62% of portfolio. In 2009, Tepper made $4 billion and his company managed $16 billion in 2010. Ethanol is at an eight month high because of the draughts in the Midwest. Valero is the third largest ethanol producer in the United States. Year-to-date, Valero is up about 22%. Source: http://www.insidermonkey.com/insider-trading/company/valero+energy+corptx/1035002/hedge-funds/#/ffp=2012-03-31&fot=4&fso=1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-16/ethanol-rises-to-eight-month-high-as-heat-threatens-midwest-corn.html?cmpid=yhoo

Chevron is involved in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. There are a total of 47 hedge funds invested in Chevron as of the end of March. Renaissance Technology, founded by Jim Simons, has 1,028,484 shares of Chevron, which makes up a little less than about .5% of portfolio. Jim Simon's hedge funds uses algorithms to find inefficiencies in the market. On July 11, Chevron announced that it expects it second quarter earnings to be higher than its first quarter earnings. Sources: http://www.insidermonkey.com/hedge-fund/renaissance+technologies/5/ http://www.insidermonkey.com/insider-trading/company/chevron+corp/93410/hedge-funds/#/ffp=2012-03-31&fot=4&fso=1

ConocoPhillips explores, produces, transports, and markets crude oil and natural gas in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. There were a total of 44 hedge funds invested in ConocoPhillips on March 31. One of the better-known Investment firms that own shares of ConocoPhillips is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett owns the most out of any hedge fund, holding 29,100,937 shares, the most, which makes up about 3% of the portfolio. On July 10, then company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66. Sources: http://www.insidermonkey.com/insider-trading/company/conocophillips/1163165/hedge-funds/#/ffp=2012-03-31&fot=4&fso=1