Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. FLOW has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with FLOW holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are seen as worthless, outdated investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open today, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the aristocrats of this club, around 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the majority of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by paying attention to their best stock picks, we have unsheathed a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see all of our picks from August).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of incentives for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if you understand what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action surrounding Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW).
How have hedgies been trading Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW)?
At year’s end, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 9% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW). Royce & Associates has a $9.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Otter Creek Management, managed by Roger Keith Long, which held a $9.5 million position; the fund has 1.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include “Richard S. Meisenberg’s ACK Asset Management, Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors and Glenn J. Krevlin’s Glenhill Advisors.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW) headfirst. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, created the most valuable position in Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW).
How have insiders been trading Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ:FLOW). These stocks are China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE:MY), Met-Pro Corporation (NYSE:MPR), Tecumseh Products Company (NASDAQ:TECUA), and Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. (NYSE:AP). All of these stocks are in the diversified machinery industry and their market caps are similar to FLOW’s market cap.
