Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (CORE): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

Is it smart to be bullish on Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE)?

In today’s marketplace, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to watch stocks. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as crucial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the stock market universe. There are a variety of reasons for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to analyze the latest info about Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE).

What does the smart money think about Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 17% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Wynnefield Capital, managed by Nelson Obus, holds the most valuable position in Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE). Wynnefield Capital has a $34.3 million position in the stock, comprising 12.9% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which held a $9.5 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital.

As aggregate interest spiked, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Wynnefield Capital, managed by Nelson Obus, assembled the most valuable position in Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE). Wynnefield Capital had 34.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management also made a $9.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CORE investors: Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital.

What have insiders been doing with Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE). These stocks are Susser Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SUSS), SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU), Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC), Village Super Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLGEA), and Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA). All of these stocks are in the grocery stores industry and their market caps are similar to CORE’s market cap.