Despite falling oil prices, several big-name hedge funds are piling on Whiting Petroleum, according to Benzinga.
Viking Global, Paulson & Co, and Citadel have apparently snapped up huge blocks in the Denver-based oil and gas company, who thanks to crude oil’s massive downturn has seen its shares fall nearly 70% over the past year – leaving its stock trading below book value right now.
Viking currently owns 5% of Whiting, a new position for the Tiger cub, while Insider Monkey reports that Citadel and Point72 have been adding to their already large stakes in the firm.
While the fundamentals seem attractive, the main driver of this play seems to be a bet on the normalization of crude oil prices – an interesting move given record output from Saudi Arabia and a revival in U.S. drilling.
When oil starts ticking up however, Whiting shares are bound to go through the roof. Stay tuned.
Photo credit: Ian Burt via Flickr