To many of your fellow readers, hedge funds are seen as overrated, outdated financial vehicles of a period lost to current times. Although there are In excess of 8,000 hedge funds in operation in present day, this site looks at the elite of this club, about 525 funds. It is assumed that this group has its hands on the majority of the smart money’s total capital, and by watching their best picks, we’ve revealed a few investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find a sample of our picks).
Just as necessary, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to analyze the world of equities. There are a variety of incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to examine the newest info surrounding Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT).
What have hedge funds been doing with Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 38% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, 12 West Capital Management, managed by Joel Ramin, holds the most valuable position in Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT). 12 West Capital Management has a $41.3 million position in the stock, comprising 6.6% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is P2 Capital Partners, managed by Claus Moller, which held a $41 million position; the fund has 6.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Natixis Global Asset Management’s Harris Associates, Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company and John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments.
Consequently, certain money managers were breaking ground themselves. 12 West Capital Management, managed by Joel Ramin, created the biggest position in Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT). 12 West Capital Management had 41.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Claus Moller’s P2 Capital Partners also initiated a $41 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BLT investors: Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments, and Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group.
How are insiders trading Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT)?
Insider buying is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT). These stocks are Hardinge Inc. (NASDAQ:HDNG), NN, Inc. (NASDAQ:NNBR), Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB), RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL), and Kaydon Corporation (NYSE:KDN). All of these stocks are in the machine tools & accessories industry and their market caps are closest to BLT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Hardinge Inc. (NASDAQ:HDNG) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| NN, Inc. (NASDAQ:NNBR) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaydon Corporation (NYSE:KDN) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by the previously mentioned strategies, regular investors should always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) is an important part of this process.
