Hedge Funds and other institutional investors have just completed filing their 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing their equity portfolios as of the end of September. At Insider Monkey, we follow over 700 of the best-performing investors and by analyzing their 13F filings, we can determine the stocks that they are collectively bullish on. One of their picks is Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), so let’s take a closer look at the sentiment that surrounds it in the current quarter.
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. At the end of this article we will also compare HTZ to other stocks including Everest Re Group Ltd (NYSE:RE), CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK), and Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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According to most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, old financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open today, We look at the leaders of this club, about 700 funds. These hedge fund managers direct the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by paying attention to their inimitable stock picks, Insider Monkey has found several investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the recent action regarding Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ).
Hedge fund activity in Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ)
Heading into Q4, a total of 54 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -19% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP has the biggest position in Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), worth close to $868.7 million, comprising 3.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is JANA Partners, led by Barry Rosenstein, holding a $655.7 million position; 7.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish comprise Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital, Jeffrey Tannenbaum’s Fir Tree and David Cohen and Harold Levy’s Iridian Asset Management.
Because Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) has experienced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there exists a select few money managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital sold off the largest stake of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, comprising about $97.8 million in stock. First Eagle Investment Management, also dropped its stock, about $52.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 13 funds last quarter.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ). These stocks are Everest Re Group Ltd (NYSE:RE), CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK), Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI), and E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to HTZ’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| RE | 27 | 735366 | 3 |
| CDK | 41 | 2736058 | -4 |
| AYI | 33 | 291886 | 6 |
| ETFC | 54 | 1048375 | 3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 38.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1,203 million. That figure was $3,484 million in HTZ’s case. E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Everest Re Group Ltd (NYSE:RE) is the least popular one with only 27 bullish hedge fund positions. Given that Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) is the most popular stock in this group along with ETFC, hedge fund sentiment says HTZ is worth a closer look.
