With the third-quarter 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 Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX), and funds were rather definitively selling.
Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX) has experienced a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. Alexander & Baldwin Inc was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with Alexander & Baldwin Inc positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare Alexander & Baldwin Inc to other stocks including Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN), Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG), and InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (NYSE:ALEX)
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In the financial world there are dozens of signals shareholders can use to appraise stocks. Two of the less utilized signals are hedge fund and insider trading moves. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a healthy amount (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to review the fresh action regarding Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX).
Hedge fund activity in Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX)
Heading into Q4, a total of 12 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a 37% fall from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or had already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Emanuel J. Friedman’s EJF Capital has the number one position in Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX), worth close to $90.1 million, accounting for 4.4% of its total 13F portfolio. On EJF Capital’s heels is AEW Capital Management, managed by Jeffrey Furber, which holds a $41.8 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish comprise Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Renaissance Technologies, and J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management.
Since Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX) has faced declining sentiment from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there were a few fund managers that decided to sell off their full holdings in the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $6 million in stock, and Peter Muller’s PDT Partners was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $0.8 million worth of shares. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 7 funds in the third quarter.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX). We will take a look at Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN), Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG), InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC), and Minerals Technologies Inc (NYSE:MTX). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to Alexander & Baldwin Inc’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFFN | 11 | 112579 | -3 |
| STNG | 30 | 410280 | 0 |
| IOC | 16 | 272993 | -1 |
| MTX | 16 | 175416 | 0 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $243 million. That figure was $152 million in Alexander & Baldwin Inc’s case. Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average, as is the amount of capital invested in the stock. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Scorpio Tankers Inc. might be a better candidate to consider a long position in.
