At Insider Monkey, we follow around 730 of the best-performing investors and even though many of them lost money in the last several months, the history teaches us that over the long-run they still manage to beat the market, which is why it can be profitable for us to imitate their activity. Of course, even the best money managers can sometimes get it wrong, but following some of their picks gives us a better chance to outperform the crowd than picking a random stock and this is where our research comes in.
Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH) investors should be aware of an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. It is important to consider that the shares of the financial company dropped 6.71% throughout the third quarter, syncing with the hedge fund sentiment. In order to understand the hedge fund behavior, we will cover hedge funds that held stakes in the Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH), at the end of September.
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 Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR), Quotient Ltd (NASDAQ:QTNT), and Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALL) to gather more data points.
Follow Atlas Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AFHIH)
Follow Atlas Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AFHIH)
In today’s marketplace, there are numerous metrics shareholders have at their disposal to value their holdings. Some of the best metrics are hedge fund and insider trading moves. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can trounce the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to view the fresh action regarding Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH).
What does the smart money think about Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, an increase of 33% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Brian C. Freckmann’s Lyon Street Capital has the largest position in Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH), worth close to $7.7 million, corresponding to 5.6% of its total 13F portfolio. On Lyon Street Capital’s heels is Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, which holds a $5.1 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism contain Renaissance Technologies, Ron Bobman’s Capital Returns Management, and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
Consequently, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Capital Returns Management, managed by Ron Bobman, established the most outsized position in Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH). Capital Returns Management had $2.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH). These stocks are Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR), Quotient Ltd (NASDAQ:QTNT), Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALL), and Wi-LAN Inc – US listing (NASDAQ:WILN). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH)’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLR | 7 | 43537 | 1 |
| QTNT | 9 | 84743 | 2 |
| HALL | 4 | 20093 | 0 |
| WILN | 5 | 2002 | 0 |
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 $38 million. That figure was $22 million in Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH)’s case. Quotient Ltd (NASDAQ:QTNT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALL) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AFH) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Quotient Ltd (NASDAQ:QTNT) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
