The government requires hedge funds and wealthy investors with over a certain portfolio size to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn’t the intention, these filings level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F filings discloses the funds’ positions on September 30. We at Insider Monkey have made an extensive database of more than 700 of those elite funds and prominent investors’ filings. In this article, we analyze how these elite funds and prominent investors traded Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK) based on those filings.
Hedge fund interest in Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator, coupled with the fact that the shares of Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK) were down 8.75% during the third quarter. However, it doesn’t offer a firm reason for the hedge fund behavior, prompting us to cover hedge funds that held positions in the company during the last quarter.
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 ASB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:ASBB), PC Tel Inc (NASDAQ:PCTI), and Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) to gather more data points.
Follow Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK)
Follow Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK)
According to most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as unimportant, outdated financial tools of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading at present, our experts look at the upper echelon of this group, about 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people handles the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by observing their inimitable equity investments, Insider Monkey has brought to light a number of investment strategies that have historically defeated Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per year for a decade in their back tests.
With all of this in mind, let’s analyze the recent action encompassing Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK).
How are hedge funds trading Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, flat over the second quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Renaissance Technologies holds the most valuable position in Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK). Renaissance Technologies has a $2.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma Advisors, with a $0.2 million position; the fund has less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Chao Ku’s Nine Chapters Capital Management, and Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners.
Judging by the fact that Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK) has witnessed a falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of hedgies who were dropping their entire stakes heading into Q4. At the top of the heap, Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management cut the largest stake of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $6.1 million in stock. Ken Griffin’s fund, Citadel Investment Group, also sold off its stock, about $0.1 million worth of shares. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK). These stocks are ASB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:ASBB), PC Tel Inc (NASDAQ:PCTI), Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS), and Community Bankers Trust Corp. (NASDAQ:ESXB). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK)’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASBB | 4 | 16152 | 0 |
| PCTI | 6 | 25771 | -1 |
| ZEUS | 9 | 4490 | -1 |
| ESXB | 5 | 13802 | 5 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 6 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $15 million. That figure was $3 million in Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK)’s case. Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, ASB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:ASBB) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (NASDAQ:ALSK) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
