Insider Monkey finished processing more than 700 13F filings made by hedge funds and prominent investors. These filings show these funds’ portfolio positions as of September 30th. What do these smart investors think about Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR)?
Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) was in 24 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2018. EXPR has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with EXPR holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that EXPR isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds’ large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 18 percentage points since May 2014 through December 3, 2018 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that’ll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 24% through December 3, 2018. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let’s go over the recent hedge fund action regarding Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR).
How have hedgies been trading Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 24 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 33% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards EXPR over the last 13 quarters. So, let’s review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically, Harvest Capital Strategies was the largest shareholder of Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), with a stake worth $32.1 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Harvest Capital Strategies was Arrowstreet Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $29.9 million. D E Shaw, Hudson Bay Capital Management, and Millennium Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Hudson Bay Capital Management, managed by Sander Gerber, initiated the biggest position in Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR). Hudson Bay Capital Management had $9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management also initiated a $6.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management, and Sander Gerber’s Hudson Bay Capital Management.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) but similarly valued. These stocks are FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF), German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC), Hanmi Financial Corp (NASDAQ:HAFC), and John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS). This group of stocks’ market caps match EXPR’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| FF | 11 | 72328 | 1 |
| GABC | 5 | 9561 | 0 |
| HAFC | 12 | 54930 | -1 |
| JBSS | 8 | 103785 | -4 |
| Average | 9 | 60151 | -1 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 9 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $60 million. That figure was $129 million in EXPR’s case. Hanmi Financial Corp (NASDAQ:HAFC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) 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.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
