Is American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) a buy here? The smart money is taking a pessimistic view. The number of long hedge fund positions fell by 5 lately.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of indicators market participants can use to track the equity markets. A pair of the best 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 top fund managers can trounce the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the world of equities. There are many reasons for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a peek at the key action encompassing American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL).
What does the smart money think about American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -28% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, GMT Capital, managed by Thomas E. Claugus, holds the largest position in American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL). GMT Capital has a $76 million position in the stock, comprising 1.9% of its 13F portfolio. On GMT Capital’s heels is Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, which held a $33 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management.
Due to the fact that American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) has experienced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes in Q4. Interestingly, Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management dumped the biggest stake of the 450+ funds we watch, worth close to $10 million in stock.. Charles Clough’s fund, Clough Capital Partners, also dumped its stock, about $5 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 5 funds in Q4.
What have insiders been doing with American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)?
Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL). These stocks are Federal-Mogul Corporation (NASDAQ:FDML), Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP), Westport Innovations Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:WPRT), Dorman Products Inc. (NASDAQ:DORM), and Monro Muffler Brake Inc (NASDAQ:MNRO). This group of stocks are in the auto parts industry and their market caps match AXL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Federal-Mogul Corporation (NASDAQ:FDML) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) | 14 | 0 | 8 |
| Westport Innovations Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:WPRT) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorman Products Inc. (NASDAQ:DORM) | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Monro Muffler Brake Inc (NASDAQ:MNRO) | 7 | 1 | 5 |
With the results demonstrated by our studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and American Axle & Manufact. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) is an important part of this process.
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