Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM) investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.
If you’d ask most market participants, hedge funds are viewed as slow, outdated investment tools of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the bigwigs of this group, around 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by paying attention to their best equity investments, we have identified a few investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a glance at the latest action surrounding Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM).
What have hedge funds been doing with Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 14% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, PAR Capital Management, managed by Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro, holds the largest position in Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM). PAR Capital Management has a $8.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Courage Capital, managed by Richard C. Patton, which held a $2.4 million position; 1.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other peers with similar optimism include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Courage Capital, managed by Richard C. Patton, initiated the biggest position in Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM). Courage Capital had 2.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also made a $0.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM). These stocks are Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE), LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LHCG), Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ:AMED), Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIV), and Addus Homecare Corporation (NASDAQ:ADUS). All of these stocks are in the home health care industry and their market caps match AFAM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LHCG) | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ:AMED) | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIV) | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Addus Homecare Corporation (NASDAQ:ADUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM) is no exception.
