How do we determine whether TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL) makes for a good investment at the moment? We analyze the sentiment of a select group of the very best investors in the world, who spend immense amounts of time and resources studying companies. They may not always be right (no one is), but data shows that their consensus long positions have historically outperformed the market when we adjust for known risk factors.
TAL International Group, Inc has seen an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. At the end of this article we will also compare TAL to other stocks, including Celadon Group, Inc. (NYSE:CGI), Farmer Brothers Co. (NASDAQ:FARM), and Investment Technology Group (NYSE:ITG) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the key action regarding TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL).
How have hedgies been trading TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 12 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a surge of 33% from the second quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” 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, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group has the biggest position in TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL), worth close to $9.7 million, amounting to less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Millennium Management, run by Israel Englander, which holds a $2.1 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism consist of Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Now, key money managers that were leading the bulls’ herd. Two Sigma Advisors, managed by John Overdeck and David Siegel, assembled the most notable position in TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL). The fund had $0.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new TAL investors: Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, and Benjamin A. Smith’s Laurion Capital Management.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL). These stocks are Celadon Group, Inc. (NYSE:CGI), Farmer Brothers Co. (NASDAQ:FARM), Investment Technology Group (NYSE:ITG), and ANI Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANIP). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to TAL’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| CGI | 14 | 26575 | -2 |
| FARM | 15 | 73781 | 6 |
| ITG | 18 | 54540 | 1 |
| ANIP | 13 | 54159 | -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 $52 million. That figure was $19 million in TAL’s case. Investment Technology Group (NYSE:ITG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand ANI Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANIP) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE:TAL) is even less popular than ANIP. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article but that the total number of hedge funds long the stock have increased quarter-over-quarter, it may be a good idea to analyze TAL in more detail and understand why the smart money is divided on the stock.
