J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)‘s story over the past year has been so dramatic, it should have its own TV show. It’d probably be a soap opera, at that, starring Tom Cruise as Bill Ackman and Anthony Hopkins as George Soros. Okay, in all seriousness though, the aggregate hedge fund industry is actually placing bets on JC Penney, so let’s take a look at who’s making the moves.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to monitor stocks. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outperform the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Just as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action surrounding J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP).
What does the smart money think about J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 46 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 28% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Pershing Square, managed by Bill Ackman, holds the biggest position in J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Pershing Square has a $667.4 million position in the stock, comprising 6.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Pershing Square’s heels is Soros Fund Management, managed by George Soros, which held a $341.4 million position; the fund has 3.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Richard Perry’s Perry Capital, Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital and Patrick McCormack’s Tiger Consumer Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Pershing Square, managed by Bill Ackman, assembled the most outsized position in J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Pershing Square had 667.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. George Soros’s Soros Fund Management also initiated a $341.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new JCP positions are Richard Perry’s Perry Capital, Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital, and Patrick McCormack’s Tiger Consumer Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). These stocks are Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc (NASDAQ:SHOS), Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS), Saks Inc (NYSE:SKS), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD), and Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS). This group of stocks belong to the department stores industry and their market caps match JCP’s market cap.