Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) was in 35 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. KSS shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 28 hedge funds in our database with KSS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To most market participants, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the masters of this group, around 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by monitoring their top investments, we have discovered a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action encompassing Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS).
How are hedge funds trading Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 35 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 25% from the third 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 holdings substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Anthony Bozza’s Lakewood Capital Management had the largest position in Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS), worth close to $33 million billion, accounting for 2.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Richard S. Pzena of Pzena Investment Management, with a $28 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Now, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. BlueCrest Capital Mgmt., managed by Michael Platt and William Reeves, established the most outsized call position in Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS). BlueCrest Capital Mgmt. had 13 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also initiated a $11 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are , Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments, and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.
How have insiders been trading Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns exhibited by our tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) applies perfectly to this mantra.
Click here to learn more about Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Newsletter
Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 29.2% between September 2012 and February 2013 versus 8.7% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.
