Does Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) represent a good buying opportunity at the moment? Let’s briefly check the hedge fund sentiment towards the company. Hedge fund firms constantly search out bright intellectuals and highly-experienced employees and throw away millions of dollars on research activities, so it is no wonder why they tend to generate millions in profits each year. It is also true that some hedge fund players fail unconceivably on some occasions, but their stock picks have been generating superior risk-adjusted returns on average over the years.
Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. KEX was in 26 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 30 hedge funds in our database with KEX holdings 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 Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML), Sovran Self Storage Inc (NYSE:SSS), and Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:QLIK) to gather more data points.
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With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action surrounding Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX).
How have hedgies been trading Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 26 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -13% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Select Equity Group, managed by Robert Joseph Caruso, holds the largest position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX). Select Equity Group has a $308.5 million position in the stock, comprising 2.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is D E Shaw, with a $41 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other professional money managers that are bullish contain Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.
Because Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) has faced falling interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there was a specific group of fund managers that elected to cut their positions entirely heading into Q4. Intriguingly, Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management sold off the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising about $69.6 million in call options.. Clint Murray’s fund, Lodge Hill Capital, also sold off its call options, about $19.2 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 4 funds heading into Q4.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) but similarly valued. These stocks are Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML), Sovran Self Storage Inc (NYSE:SSS), Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:QLIK), and Memorial Resource Development Corp (NASDAQ:MRD). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble KEX’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATML | 35 | 265929 | -1 |
| SSS | 19 | 382044 | 4 |
| QLIK | 38 | 871897 | 6 |
| MRD | 30 | 644554 | 3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 30.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $541 million. That figure was $572 million in KEX’s case. Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:QLIK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sovran Self Storage Inc (NYSE:SSS) is the least popular one with only 19 bullish hedge fund positions. Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) 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 QLIK might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
