The 700+ hedge funds and money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the third quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of September 30. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund positions. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC).
Is Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) ready to rally soon? Hedge funds are genuinely turning bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets went up by 4 recently. HSC was in 19 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2016. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with HSC positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare HSC to other stocks including Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS), Varonis Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VRNS), and InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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How have hedgies been trading Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC)?
At Q3’s end, a total of 19 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, up by 27% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 15 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in HSC heading into this year. So, let’s find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Joe Huber’s Huber Capital Management holds the largest position in Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) which has a $36.6 million position in the stock, comprising 1.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Nelson Obus of Wynnefield Capital, with a $10.2 million position; 3.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers with similar optimism encompass Peter Schliemann’s Rutabaga Capital Management, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw. We should note that none of these hedge funds are 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.
Consequently, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Peter Muller’s PDT Partners established the most outsized position in Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC). PDT Partners had $1.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management also initiated a $0.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new HSC investors: Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, George Hall’s Clinton Group, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) but similarly valued. These stocks are Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS), Varonis Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VRNS), InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR), and Cardiovascular Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSII). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to HSC’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSS | 17 | 83249 | -2 |
| VRNS | 17 | 77160 | 3 |
| HIFR | 12 | 142129 | -4 |
| CSII | 15 | 143251 | 4 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $111 million. That figure was $87 million in HSC’s case. Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) 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.
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