Is American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT) a buy?
At the moment, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to track the equity markets. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as crucial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to look at the stock market universe. There are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to discuss the recent info about American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT).
How have hedgies been trading American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 13% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
According to our 13F database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT), worth close to $14.4 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $1.6 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors.
With a general bullishness amongst the titans, certain money managers have jumped into American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT) headfirst. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, established the most valuable position in American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT). Royce & Associates had 14.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also initiated a $1.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors.
How are insiders trading American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT). These stocks are Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR), Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY), Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX), The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG), and Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFSI). This group of stocks are the members of the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps are closest to ANAT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX) | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFSI) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns shown by our analyses, average investors must always track hedge fund and insider trading activity, and American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT) applies perfectly to this mantra.
