Is H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) a good investment right now? Hedge funds are taking a bearish view. The number of long hedge fund bets decreased by 5 in recent months.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to watch stocks. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of incentives for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the key action regarding H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES).
How have hedgies been trading H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -42% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Van Schreiber’s Bennett Lawrence Management had the most valuable position in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES), worth close to $4.8 million, comprising 0.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Bennett Lawrence Management’s heels is Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, which held a $3.2 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Robert Bishop’s Impala Asset Management, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Judging by the fact that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of fund managers that decided to sell off their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. Interestingly, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, totaling close to $1.5 million in stock., and Phil Frohlich of Prescott Group Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $1.5 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 5 funds at the end of the first quarter.
How are insiders trading H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES). These stocks are EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO), Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA), Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY), CIRCOR International, Inc. (NYSE:CIR), and Standex Int’l Corp. (NYSE:SXI). All of these stocks are in the industrial equipment & components industry and their market caps are closest to HEES’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO) | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) | 31 | 3 | 1 |
| Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY) | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| CIRCOR International, Inc. (NYSE:CIR) | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Standex Int’l Corp. (NYSE:SXI) | 7 | 0 | 4 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) applies perfectly to this mantra.
