Hedge Funds Are Betting On Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (WAIR): Newport Corporation (NEWP), Susser Petroleum Partners LP (SUSP)

Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. WAIR shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with WAIR positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to track stocks. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. There are plenty of reasons for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action encompassing Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR).

How are hedge funds trading Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 60% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, David Abrams’s Abrams Capital Management had the largest position in Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR), worth close to $66 million, accounting for 6% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Scout Capital Management, managed by James Crichton and Adam Weiss, which held a $44 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, assembled the biggest position in Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR). Millennium Management had 0 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR). These stocks are Newport Corporation (NASDAQ:NEWP), Susser Petroleum Partners LP (NYSE:SUSP), RTI International Metals, Inc. (NYSE:RTI), Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT), and DXP Enterprises Inc (NASDAQ:DXPE). This group of stocks belong to the industrial equipment wholesale industry and their market caps match WAIR’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR) is no exception.

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