Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (BHAC)

With the third-quarter round of 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 Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (NASDAQ:BHAC).

Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock shares haven’t seen a lot of action during the third quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG), LRAD Corp (NASDAQ:LRAD), and Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSEMKT:PTN) to gather more data points.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are tons of metrics stock market investors put to use to assess publicly traded companies. A couple of the most underrated metrics are hedge fund and insider trading moves. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see the details here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the recent action regarding Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (NASDAQ:BHAC).

Hedge fund activity in Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (NASDAQ:BHAC)

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 4 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, unchanged from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Seneca Capital, managed by Douglas Hirsch, holds the most valuable position in Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (NASDAQ:BHAC). The fund has a $2.6 million position in the company, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Andrew Weiss of Weiss Asset Management, with a $2.5 million stake; the fund has 1.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism include Paul Glazer’s Glazer Capital and Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management.

Earlier we told you that the aggregate hedge fund interest in the stock was unchanged and we view this as a negative development. Even though there weren’t any hedge funds dumping their holdings during the third quarter, there weren’t any hedge funds initiating brand new positions. This indicates that hedge funds, at the very best, perceive this stock as dead money and they haven’t identified any viable catalysts that can attract investor attention.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (NASDAQ:BHAC). We will take a look at Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG), LRAD Corp (NASDAQ:LRAD), Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PTN), and Emmis Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:EMMS). This group of stocks’ market values match BHAC’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $5 million. That figure was $6 million in BHAC’s case, a positive sign. Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSEMKT:PTN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG) and Emmis Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:EMMS) are the least popular ones with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions, a position shared with Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (NASDAQ:BHAC). Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.