A whopping number of 13F filings filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been processed by Insider Monkey so that individual investors can look at the overall hedge fund sentiment towards the stocks included in their watchlists. These freshly-submitted public filings disclose money managers’ equity positions as of the end of the three-month period that ended September 30, so let’s proceed with the discussion of the hedge fund sentiment on Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL).
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has experienced a decrease in hedge fund interest recently. However, a stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. Since the level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT), PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG), and Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) to gather more data points.
Follow Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL)
Follow Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL)
If you’d ask most investors, hedge funds are viewed as unimportant, old investment tools of years past. While there are over 8,000 funds in operation at the moment, We choose to focus on the masters of this club, approximately 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors orchestrate the majority of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by following their finest equity investments, Insider Monkey has unsheathed various 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.
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With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the latest action surrounding Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL).
How have hedgies been trading Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)?
At the end of September, a total of 85 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, down by 10% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Lansdowne Partners, managed by Alex Snow, holds the number one position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL). Lansdowne Partners has a $1.0532 billion position in the stock, comprising 9.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro’s PAR Capital Management, with a $451.3 million position; 6.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism contain David Cohen and Harold Levy’s Iridian Asset Management, Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Judging by the fact that Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies who sold off their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Robert Polak’s Anchor Bolt Capital dumped the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at about $97.4 million in stock. First Eagle Investment Management, also sold off its stock, about $90.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by nine funds during the third quarter.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) but similarly valued. These stocks are BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT), PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG), Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA), and Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS). This group of stocks’ market values resemble DAL’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBT | 22 | 181498 | 2 |
| PPG | 34 | 725616 | -3 |
| LBTYA | 52 | 2089982 | 1 |
| RBS | 10 | 20902 | 1 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 30 funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $754 million at the end of September. On the other hand, hedge funds amassed $4.97 billion worth of DAL’s stock. Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
