At the moment, there are many indicators shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are lots of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a gander at the latest action encompassing American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT).
Hedge fund activity in American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT)
At year’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 67% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT). Royce & Associates has a $9.9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $1.4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Now, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, created the most valuable position in American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT). Highbridge Capital Management had 0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ANAT positions are Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Insider trading activity in American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT). These stocks are Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR), Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY), Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX), The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG), and Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFSI). This group of stocks belong to the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps are closest to ANAT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR) | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Corelogic Inc (NYSE:CLGX) | 26 | 6 | 2 |
| The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG) | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Amtrust Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFSI) | 10 | 0 | 3 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ:ANAT) is no exception.
