Now, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Harbor Spring Capital, managed by Amit Nitin Doshi, assembled the most valuable position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX). Harbor Spring Capital had $37 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management also initiated a $23.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new EFX investors: Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, and George Hall’s Clinton Group.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA), Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC), Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS), and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NYSE:AMTD). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to EFX’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ULTA | 40 | 2044715 | 4 |
| GPC | 23 | 347677 | 1 |
| NTRS | 30 | 486076 | 3 |
| AMTD | 17 | 290831 | 4 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 27.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $792 million. That figure was $529 million in EFX’s case. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NYSE:AMTD) is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) 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 ULTA might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
