Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI) shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.
In the financial world, there are dozens of methods shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are many stimuli for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the key action encompassing Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI).
Hedge fund activity in Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI)
Heading into Q2, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 200% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management had the biggest position in Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI), worth close to $11.8 million, accounting for 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, which held a $9.5 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management and John Murphy’s Alydar Capital.
As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Cupps Capital Management, managed by Drew Cupps, assembled the most outsized position in Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI). Cupps Capital Management had 4.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Murphy’s Alydar Capital also made a $4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners, and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.
How have insiders been trading Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI). These stocks are Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ:DENN), Chuy’s Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CHUY), Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC), CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC), and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRGB). All of these stocks are in the restaurants industry and their market caps match FRGI’s market cap.
