Hedge Funds Are Selling Air Transport Services Group Inc. (ATSG)

Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ATSG investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with ATSG positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are tons of metrics market participants can use to monitor the equity markets. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are plenty of reasons for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a gander at the recent action encompassing Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG).

What does the smart money think about Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Prescott Group Capital Management, managed by Phil Frohlich, holds the most valuable position in Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG). Prescott Group Capital Management has a $33.7 million position in the stock, comprising 7.5% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Private Capital Management, managed by Gregg J. Powers, which held a $17 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that hold long positions include Jay Petschek and Steven Major’s Corsair Capital Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Since Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) has faced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds who sold off their full holdings heading into Q2. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the largest investment of the 450+ funds we watch, valued at an estimated $0.1 million in stock.. Ken Griffin’s fund, Citadel Investment Group, also dropped its stock, about $0.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG). These stocks are UTi Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:UTIW), Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG), Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS), and XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO). This group of stocks are in the air delivery & freight services industry and their market caps match ATSG’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds