Marathon Oil [MRO] retains the top spot amongst most popular energy stocks in Q2 2011 while Anadarko Petroleum [APC] has advanced from fourth most popular to second place. With the horrible August the market has had, both stocks have traded down considerably from their quarter end closing price with Marathon down 19% while Anadarko is down 10%.
Investing in the most popular hedge fund energy stocks has historically been a big winning strategy. Investing quarterly in the 10 most popular energy stocks amongst hedge funds in AlphaClones universe has returned 303% since 2000 vs. 136% for the S&P500 Energy Index. The strategy has returned 41% over the past 12 months vs. 28% for its benchmark index. Other popular energy stocks that make up this quarter’s portfolio include giants like Exxon Mobile [XOM] and Whiting Petroleum [WLL].
