A whopping number of 13F filings filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been processed by Insider Monkey so that individual investors can look at the overall hedge fund sentiment towards the stocks included in their watchlists. These freshly-submitted public filings disclose money managers’ equity positions as of the end of the three-month period that ended September 30, so let’s proceed with the discussion of the hedge fund sentiment on Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO).
Hedge fund interest in Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO) was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. At the end of this article we will also compare AGRO to other stocks, including Hortonworks Inc (NASDAQ:HDP), The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE), and Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Today there are numerous metrics stock traders employ to evaluate stocks. A duo of the less known metrics are hedge fund and insider trading interest. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the market by a significant amount (see the details here).
Now, let’s analyze the recent action encompassing Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO).
Hedge fund activity in Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO)
At the Q3’s end, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, flat from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, George Soros’ Soros Fund Management has the biggest position in Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO), worth close to $206.3 million, amounting to 3.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund is Dwight Anderson’s Ospraie Management, with a $84.8 million position; 100% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other members of the smart money with similar optimism consist of Edmond M. Safra’s EMS Capital, Alan Howard’s Brevan Howard and Jody LaNasa and Vivian Lau’s Serengeti Asset Management.
In addition, there is a sect of hedgies that slashed their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Hugh Sloane’s Sloane Robinson Investment Management dropped the largest position of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $0.4 million in stock, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.2 million worth of shares.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO) but similarly valued. These stocks are Hortonworks Inc (NASDAQ:HDP), The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE), Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS), and Vitamin Shoppe Inc (NYSE:VSI). All of these stocks’ market caps match AGRO’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDP | 16 | 155580 | -4 |
| EDE | 8 | 41389 | -2 |
| PAAS | 14 | 54088 | 4 |
| VSI | 17 | 231390 | -3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $121 million, compared to $367 million in AGRO’s case. Vitamin Shoppe Inc (NYSE:VSI) is the most popular stock in this table, while The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard VSI might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
