Is Vishay Intertechnology (VSH) A Good Stock To Buy?

Investing in hedge funds can bring large profits, but it’s not for everybody, since hedge funds are available only for high-net-worth individuals. They generate significant returns for investors to justify their large fees and they allocate a lot of time and employ a complex analysis to determine the best stocks to invest in. A particularly interesting group of stocks that hedge funds like is the small-caps. The huge amount of capital does not allow hedge funds to invest a lot in small-caps, but our research showed that their most popular small-cap ideas are less efficiently priced and generate stronger returns than their large- and mega-cap picks and the broader market. That is why we follow the hedge fund activity in the small-cap space.

Is Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH) a worthy stock to buy now? Investors who are in the know are taking a bearish view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets shrunk by 2 in recent months. VSH was in 19 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 21 hedge funds in our database with VSH positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN), Pattern Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:PEGI), and Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) to gather more data points.

With all of this in mind, let’s review the recent action surrounding Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH).

Hedge fund activity in Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH)

Heading into Q4, a total of 19 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -10% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH). Royce & Associates has a $97.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management, with a $41.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining professional money managers with similar optimism comprise Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management.

Due to the fact that Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH) has experienced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that elected to cut their full holdings in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management dropped the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $1.2 million in stock. Chao Ku’s fund, Nine Chapters Capital Management, also cut its stock, about $0.7 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH) but similarly valued. These stocks are Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN), Pattern Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:PEGI), Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR), and Houlihan Lokey Inc (NYSE:HLI). This group of stocks’ market valuations match VSH’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $98 million. That figure was $254 million in VSH’s case. Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Pattern Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:PEGI) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH) 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.