Is Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) a marvelous investment right now? The smart money is getting less bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets shrunk by 6 lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a gander at the recent action regarding Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR).
How have hedgies been trading Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -38% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR). Royce & Associates has a $138.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $14.7 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Since Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there were a few funds that decided to sell off their entire stakes in Q1. Interestingly, Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management sold off the largest stake of all the hedgies we watch, comprising about $8.8 million in stock., and Andrew Sandler of Sandler Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $3.1 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 6 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR). These stocks are Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX), Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN), Con-way Inc (NYSE:CNW), Swift Transportation Co (NYSE:SWFT), and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL). This group of stocks are the members of the trucking industry and their market caps match LSTR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX) | 17 | 0 | 4 |
| Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Con-way Inc (NYSE:CNW) | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| Swift Transportation Co (NYSE:SWFT) | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) | 20 | 0 | 1 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) is no exception.
