What’s a smart Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) investor to do?
In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of methods market participants can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as useful, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the investments you’re interested in. There are many incentives for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s important to discuss the latest info surrounding Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM).
How are hedge funds trading Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 58% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our 13F database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM). Royce & Associates has a $144.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which held a $8.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
As industrywide interest increased, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, assembled the most outsized position in Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM). Royce & Associates had 144.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management also initiated a $8.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new SAFM investors: Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM). These stocks are Annies Inc (NYSE:BNNY), Lancaster Colony Corp. (NASDAQ:LANC), Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE:DOLE), Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM), and Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST). This group of stocks are the members of the food – major diversified industry and their market caps are closest to SAFM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Annies Inc (NYSE:BNNY) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Lancaster Colony Corp. (NASDAQ:LANC) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE:DOLE) | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) | 21 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results shown by the previously mentioned studies, regular investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) is an important part of this process.
