A Pair of Pro Favorites In Dry Bulk Shipping (KEX, DRYS, NM, DSX, GNK, OCNF, PRGN, SBLK)
by Owen Vater | March 11th
At the end of the fourth quarter, a number of Pros had big bets in the dry bulk sector, and despite mixed opinions in the lower ranks a pair of clear favorites emerged.
The largely commodity-tied dry bulk shipping sector got beat up when the global economy slowed in 2008, and unlike some other industries, it hasn’t been a quick rebound. The Baltic Dry Index, which serves as an industry pricing benchmark, surged higher towards the end of 2009, only to pare most of its gains in December and into early 2010. Since then, the BDI appears to have reached a near-term bottom, and a look at the longer-term trend shows a healthy, albeit slight upward trend.
Given the state of the industry, it is particularly interesting to see which stocks were favored by hedge funds, mutual funds, and advisors. As of the most recent regulatory filings, a pair of obvious favorites emerged among components of the Dry Bulk Shipping Stocks Index.
Kirby (KEX), the sector’s largest U.S.-listed player, was in the top-15 U.S.-listed equity holdings of six Pros at the end of 2009. Interestingly, however, five of them were trimming stakes in the company during the fourth quarter.
Runner-up by the same criteria was next-largest U.S.-listed player DryShips (DRYS). Unlike Kirby, four of the five Pros to count DryShips among their top-15 U.S.-listed positions were adding to existing stakes or opening a new position in the stock during Q4.
Elsewhere in the sector, Navios Maritime Holdings (NM), Diana Shipping (DSX), and Genco Shipping & Trading (GNK) were all among the top holdings of two Pros respectively at the end of 2009. Meanwhile, OceanFreight (OCNF), Paragon Shipping (PRGN), and Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) were in the top-15 holdings of one Pro each.
It will be interesting to see which of the Pro picks outperform in 2010. No single 13F filing fund or advisor counted more than one component of the Dry Bulk Shipping Stocks Index among its top-15 U.S.-listed equity holdings at the end of Q4.
Investors can track the Dry Bulk Shipping Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.
AI
