We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, therefore imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, smart money investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not always available for the general crowd. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have occasional colossal losses; they do (like Ackman’s recent Valeant losses). However, it is still a good idea to keep an eye on hedge fund activity. With this in mind, as the current round of 13F filings has just ended, let’s examine the smart money sentiment towards Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI).
Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI)’s stock has gained 15% since the beginning of the year, but at 29.8 times earnings, it is trading cheaper than many of its industry peers. In this way, the best stock pickers are in an optimistic mood and the number of bullish hedge fund bets increased by 4 lately. VVI was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. However, 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 ConnectOne Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CNOB), Nevsun Resources (USA) (NYSEMKT:NSU), and Sequential Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:SQBG) to gather more data points.
Follow Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI)
Follow Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI)
To the average investor there are a large number of tools stock market investors have at their disposal to assess stocks. A pair of the less known tools are hedge fund and insider trading activity. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see the details here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the new action surrounding Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI).
What does the smart money think about Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI)?
At the Q3’s end, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 36% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, GMT Capital has the biggest position in Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI), worth close to $44.2 million, comprising 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Moab Capital Partners, managed by Michael M. Rothenberg, which holds a $8.9 million position; 3.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that are bullish contain Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management, David Brown’s Hawk Ridge Management, and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
