Although the masses and most of the financial media blame hedge funds for their exorbitant fee structure and disappointing performance, these investors have proved to have great stock picking abilities over the years (that’s why their assets under management continue to swell). We believe hedge fund sentiment should serve as a crucial tool of an individual investor’s stock selection process, as it may offer great insights of how the brightest minds of the finance industry feel about specific stocks. After all, these people have access to smartest analysts and expensive data/information sources that individual investors can’t match. So should one consider investing in Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC)? The smart money sentiment can provide an answer to this question.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. 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 Dover Corp (NYSE:DOV), First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC), and UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) to gather more data points.
Follow Cablevision Systems Corp (NYSE:CVC)
Follow Cablevision Systems Corp (NYSE:CVC)
Keeping this in mind, let’s view the latest action surrounding Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC).
How are hedge funds trading Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 36 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 50% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, holds the number one position in Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). GAMCO Investors has a $322.8 million position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. On GAMCO Investors’s heels is Jericho Capital Asset Management, managed by Josh Resnick, which holds a $307.7 million position; 19.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other professional money managers with similar optimism consist of John Paulson’s Paulson & Co, Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management and Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management.
As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Jericho Capital Asset Management, managed by Josh Resnick, initiated the biggest position in Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Jericho Capital Asset Management had $307.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management also initiated a $218.9 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new CVC positions are Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, Carl Tiedemann and Michael Tiedemann’s TIG Advisors, and Josh Resnick’s Jericho Capital Asset Management.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) but similarly valued. These stocks are Dover Corp (NYSE:DOV), First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC), UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR), and Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble CVC’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOV | 25 | 430085 | -1 |
| FRC | 17 | 362242 | -7 |
| UDR | 9 | 45140 | -3 |
| EXPD | 25 | 731428 | -6 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 19 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $392 million. That figure was $1,772 million in CVC’s case. Dover Corp (NYSE:DOV) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
