Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (AGM)

Is Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM) a buy, sell, or hold? The best stock pickers are in a pessimistic mood. The number of long hedge fund bets stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to watch stocks. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are plenty of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM).

Hedge fund activity in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM)

At Q1’s end, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Whitebox Advisors, managed by Andy Redleaf, holds the biggest position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM). Whitebox Advisors has a $2.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $2.1 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Since Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management dropped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling an estimated $0.3 million in stock. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 12 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM). These stocks are Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:AACC), Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GCA), Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSS), Regional Management Corp (NYSE:RM), and Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI). This group of stocks are in the credit services industry and their market caps resemble AGM’s market cap.

With the results shown by our research, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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