Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. HGR shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with HGR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to watch stocks. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can trounce the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are plenty of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
Now, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR).
How are hedge funds trading Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management had the largest position in Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR), worth close to $1.9 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, which held a $1.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, initiated the most valuable position in Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR). AQR Capital Management had 1.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Insider trading activity in Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR)
Insider buying is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 14 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR). These stocks are U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH), Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY), HEALTHSOUTH Corp. (NYSE:HLS), IPC The Hospitalist Company Inc (NASDAQ:IPCM), and Acadia Healthcare Company Inc (NASDAQ:ACHC). This group of stocks are in the specialized health services industry and their market caps resemble HGR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| HEALTHSOUTH Corp. (NYSE:HLS) | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| IPC The Hospitalist Company Inc (NASDAQ:IPCM) | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Acadia Healthcare Company Inc (NASDAQ:ACHC) | 17 | 1 | 16 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR) is an important part of this process.
