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Hedge fund interest in La Quinta Holdings Inc (NYSE:LQ) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. 14 hedge funds that we track owned the stock on September 30, same as on June 30. At the end of this article we will also compare LQ to other stocks including 2U Inc (NASDAQ:TWOU), Fidelity & Guaranty Life (NYSE:FGL), and Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LQ)
Follow La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LQ)
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What have hedge funds been doing with La Quinta Holdings Inc (NYSE:LQ)?
Heading into the fourth quarter of 2016, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a unchanged from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in LQ over the last 5 quarters, which shows hedge fund ownership stuck at a yearly low. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Eminence Capital, led by Ricky Sandler, holds the most valuable position in La Quinta Holdings Inc (NYSE:LQ). Eminence Capital has a $101.7 million position in the stock, comprising 1.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Senator Investment Group, led by Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin, which holds a $55.9 million position. Some other peers that are bullish include David E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, John Khoury’s Long Pond Capital, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group. 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.
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, Eric Chen’s Antipodean Advisors got rid of the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $1.6 million in stock. Paul Tudor Jones’ fund, Tudor Investment Corp, also sold off its stock, about $0.3 million worth.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to La Quinta Holdings Inc (NYSE:LQ). We will take a look at 2U Inc (NASDAQ:TWOU), Fidelity & Guaranty Life (NYSE:FGL), Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR), and La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB). This group of stocks’ market caps match LQ’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| TWOU | 15 | 70739 | 3 |
| FGL | 12 | 107192 | 0 |
| AMKR | 20 | 123399 | 4 |
| LZB | 18 | 64304 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 16 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $91 million. That figure was $245 million in LQ’s case. Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Fidelity & Guaranty Life (NYSE:FGL) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. La Quinta Holdings Inc (NYSE:LQ) 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 AMKR might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
