Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI) was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. HTSI investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with HTSI positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to analyze stocks. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outperform the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a variety of stimuli for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI).
How are hedge funds trading Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 200% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers have jumped into Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI) headfirst. Blue Harbour Group, managed by Clifton S. Robbins, created the largest position in Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI). Blue Harbour Group had 24.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Andrew Spokes’s Farallon Capital also initiated a $20.3 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new HTSI investors: Scott Scher & Michael Prober’s Clovis Capital Management, Sander Gerber’s Hudson Bay Capital Management, and Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI). These stocks are SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU), Susser Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SUSS), Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK), Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY), and The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM). This group of stocks are in the grocery stores industry and their market caps resemble HTSI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) | 34 | 0 | 1 |
| Susser Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SUSS) | 17 | 1 | 5 |
| Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM) | 15 | 1 | 0 |
With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
