Insider Monkey has processed numerous 13F filings of hedge funds and famous investors to create an extensive database of hedge fund holdings. The 13F filings show the hedge funds and investors’ positions as of the end of the third quarter. You can find write-ups about an individual hedge fund’s trades on several financial news websites. However, in this article we will take a look at their collective moves and analyze what the smart money thinks of Communications Sales & Leasing Inc (NASDAQ:CSAL) based on that data.
Hedge fund interest in Communications Sales & Leasing Inc (NASDAQ:CSAL) shares was flat at the end of last quarter, and there were 24 hedge funds in our database with CSAL holdings. This is usually a negative indicator. At the end of this article we will also compare CSAL to other stocks including Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), and Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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Hedge fund activity in Communications Sales & Leasing Inc (NASDAQ:CSAL)
At Q3’s end, a total of 24 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, unchanged from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 17 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in CSAL heading into this year. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Zimmer Partners, led by Stuart J. Zimmer, holds the biggest position in Communications Sales & Leasing Inc (NASDAQ:CSAL). Zimmer Partners has a $94.4 million position in the stock, comprising 2.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Renaissance Technologies holding a $79.8 million position. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism encompass Robert Pitts’s Steadfast Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group. We should note that Zimmer Partners is among our list of the 100 best performing hedge funds which is based on the performance of their 13F long positions in non-microcap stocks.
We already know that not all hedge funds are bullish on the stock and some hedge funds actually got rid of their positions entirely. Interestingly, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital got rid of the largest position of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $14.3 million in stock, and Solomon Kumin’s Folger Hill Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $11.6 million worth of shares.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Communications Sales & Leasing Inc (NASDAQ:CSAL) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN), and Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN). This group of stocks’ market caps match CSAL’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMS | 16 | 165865 | -2 |
| BIO | 29 | 562873 | 7 |
| ALSN | 38 | 1902732 | 4 |
| DNKN | 20 | 557044 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 26 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $797 million. That figure was $474 million in CSAL’s case. Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) is the least popular one with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. Communications Sales & Leasing Inc (NASDAQ:CSAL) 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 ALSN might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
