Do Hedge Funds Love Mantech International Corp (MANT)?

At Insider Monkey, we track the activity of some of the best-performing hedge funds like Appaloosa Management, Baupost, and Third Point because we determined that some of the stocks that they are collectively bullish on can help us generate returns above the broader indices. Out of the thousands of stocks that hedge funds invest in, small-caps can provide the best returns over the long term due to the fact that these companies are less efficiently priced and are usually under the radars of mass-media, analysts and dumb money. This is why we follow the smart money moves in the small-cap space.

Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT) investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest lately. Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT) positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO), Hortonworks Inc (NASDAQ:HDP), and Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE) to gather more data points.

To most shareholders, hedge funds are seen as worthless, outdated financial tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open at present, our experts hone in on the bigwigs of this club, approximately 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors handles the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by monitoring their inimitable equity investments, Insider Monkey has identified numerous investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per year for a decade in their back tests.

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action regarding Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT).

How have hedgies been trading Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, an increase of 18% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund and institutional investor database, Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management has the biggest position in Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT), worth close to $22.4 million, corresponding to 5% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Royce & Associates, mutual fund led by Chuck Royce, holding a $14.2 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish encompass Mark Coe’s Coe Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Coe Capital Management made a $4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Peter Muller’s PDT Partners.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT) but similarly valued. These stocks are Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO), Hortonworks Inc (NASDAQ:HDP), Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE), and Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT)’s market cap.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 13 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $155 million, versus $49 million in Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT)’s case. Hortonworks Inc (NASDAQ:HDP) is the most popular stock in this table and, while Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ: MANT) is not the least popular stock in this group, the hedge fund interest towards it is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Hortonworks Inc (NASDAQ:HDP) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.