MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. HZO investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with HZO holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are a variety of stimuli for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action encompassing MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO).
How have hedgies been trading MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 40% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO). Royce & Associates has a $16.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is PAR Capital Management, managed by Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro, which held a $5.4 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Now, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the most valuable position in MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO). Citadel Investment Group had 0.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new HZO position is John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
How are insiders trading MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO). These stocks are West Marine, Inc. (NASDAQ:WMAR), TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSEAMEX:TA), Winmark Corporation (NASDAQ:WINA), Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED), and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS). This group of stocks are the members of the specialty retail, other industry and their market caps are closest to HZO’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| West Marine, Inc. (NASDAQ:WMAR) | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSEAMEX:TA) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Winmark Corporation (NASDAQ:WINA) | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) | 8 | 0 | 2 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO) applies perfectly to this mantra.
