Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. AGII investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with AGII holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as key, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action regarding Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII).
How are hedge funds trading Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management had the most valuable position in Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII), worth close to $30 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $25 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers have jumped into Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) headfirst. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, assembled the most valuable position in Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII). Millennium Management had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Kroch’s GRT Capital Partners also initiated a $0 million position during the quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII). These stocks are Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE), Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH), Tower Group International Ltd (NASDAQ:TWGP), FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), and MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG). All of these stocks are in the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps match AGII’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Tower Group International Ltd (NASDAQ:TWGP) | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) | 20 | 6 | 1 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned research, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
