Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Solar Capital Ltd. (SLRC)?

Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.

In the financial world, there are tons of metrics shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a look at the latest action surrounding Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC).

What does the smart money think about Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 25% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

Of the funds we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC). Citadel Investment Group has a $10.9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $6.4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Now, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, created the most valuable position in Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC). Millennium Management had 4.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also made a $1.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new SLRC position is Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC). These stocks are Sabine Royalty Trust (NYSE:SBR), Dorchester Minerals LP (NASDAQ:DMLP), ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG), Tile Shop Hldgs, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTS), and Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE:MAIN). All of these stocks are in the diversified investments industry and their market caps match SLRC’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC) is an important part of this process.

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