Briggs & Stratton Corporation (BGG): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?: Luxfer Holdings PLC (ADR) (LXFR): Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI)

Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.

To the average investor, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to analyze stocks. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outclass the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are a variety of reasons for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a look at the latest action encompassing Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG).

What does the smart money think about Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 22% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Levin Capital Strategies, managed by John A. Levin, holds the biggest position in Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG). Levin Capital Strategies has a $38.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $23.6 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, initiated the biggest position in Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG). Arrowstreet Capital had 1.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $0.8 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new BGG positions are Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp and SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors.

What have insiders been doing with Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG). These stocks are Luxfer Holdings PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LXFR), Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI), Edwards Group Ltd (NASDAQ:EVAC), AIXTRON SE (ADR) (NASDAQ:AIXG), and MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI). This group of stocks are the members of the diversified machinery industry and their market caps resemble BGG’s market cap.