With the third-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the fourth quarter. One of these stocks was Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO).
Is Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) an excellent stock to buy now? The best stock pickers are getting more optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund positions went up by 1 recently. Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 21 hedge funds in our database with Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) to other stocks, including Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR), Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POM), and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TARO) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the new action encompassing Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO).
How have hedgies been trading Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 22 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, an increase of 5% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital has the largest position in Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO), worth close to $70.5 million, corresponding to 2.5% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Permian Investment Partners, managed by Alex Duran and Scott Hendrickson, which holds a $52.8 million position; 12.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other professional money managers with similar optimism comprise Christopher Lord’s Criterion Capital, Christopher Lyle’s SCGE Management, and Soros Fund Management.
Consequently, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Nick Niell’s Arrowgrass Capital Partners also made a $6.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ZAYO positions are Richard Driehaus’ Driehaus Capital, Jose Fernandez’s Stepstone Group, and Wilbur Ross’ Invesco Private Capital (WL Ross).
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR), Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POM), Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TARO), and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE). This group of stocks’ market values resembles Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO)’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLR | 25 | 213843 | -4 |
| POM | 21 | 278632 | 5 |
| TARO | 23 | 312394 | 3 |
| ARE | 22 | 110130 | 8 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 23 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $229 million. That figure was $345 million in Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO)’s case. Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POM) is the least popular one with only 21 bullish hedge fund positions. Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
