The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We have processed the filings of the more than 700 world-class investment firms that we track and now have access to the collective wisdom contained in these filings, which are based on their September 30 holdings, data that is available nowhere else. Should you consider Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) for your portfolio? We’ll look to this invaluable collective wisdom for the answer.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) shares haven’t seen a lot of action during the third quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 18 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. At the end of this article we will also compare CCO to other stocks including Hudson Pacific Properties Inc (NYSE:HPP), Wintrust Financial Corp (NASDAQ:WTFC), and Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ:INFN) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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According to most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, outdated financial tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, Our experts hone in on the masters of this club, around 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people watch over the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by observing their top equity investments, Insider Monkey has unearthed several investment strategies that have historically defeated Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action encompassing Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO).
What have hedge funds been doing with Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO)?
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Canyon Capital Advisors, managed by Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis, holds the most valuable position in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO). Canyon Capital Advisors has a $32.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. On Canyon Capital Advisors’ heels is David Abrams of Abrams Capital Management, with a $23.9 million position; 1.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other members of the smart money with similar optimism include David Warren’s DW Partners, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors and Don Morgan’s Brigade Capital.
At the top of the heap, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group sold off the biggest stake of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, totaling about $0.3 million in stock. George Hall’s fund, Clinton Group, also sold off its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) but similarly valued. These stocks are Hudson Pacific Properties Inc (NYSE:HPP), Wintrust Financial Corp (NASDAQ:WTFC), Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ:INFN), and Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to CCO’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| HPP | 14 | 247133 | -3 |
| WTFC | 11 | 182426 | -2 |
| INFN | 31 | 258517 | 6 |
| CLH | 22 | 293182 | 3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $245 million. That figure was $103 million in CCO’s case. Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ:INFN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Wintrust Financial Corp (NASDAQ:WTFC) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) 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 INFN might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
