To the average investor, there are tons of gauges shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).
Equally as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the key action regarding Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN).
Hedge fund activity in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 54% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN), worth close to $19 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $13 million position; the fund has 0% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management and Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names have jumped into Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) headfirst. SG Capital Management, managed by Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider, created the largest position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN). SG Capital Management had 6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Fichthorn’s Dialectic Capital Management also made a $4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new WERN investors: Ken Brodkowitz and Mike Vermut’s Newland Capital, Anil Stevens and Glenn Shapiro’s Parameter Capital Management, and Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital.
How are insiders trading Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by the aforementioned research, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) is no exception.
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