CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH) has seen an increase in hedge fund interest in recent months.
To the average investor, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to analyze their holdings. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. There are a variety of incentives for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a peek at the key action regarding CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH).
How have hedgies been trading CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 200% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw had the largest position in CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH), worth close to $2.6 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On D E Shaw’s heels is Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $1.9 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Catapult Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments.
As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Catapult Capital Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the biggest position in CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH). Catapult Capital Management had 0.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also made a $0.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to CRH PLC (ADR) (NYSE:CRH). These stocks are Texas Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TXI), Eagle Materials, Inc. (NYSE:EXP) and Cemex SAB de CV (ADR) (NYSE:CX). This group of stocks are in the cement industry and their market caps match CRH’s market cap.
