What’s a smart HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) investor to do?
In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can beat the market by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as necessary, bullish insider trading activity is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of incentives for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
Furthermore, we’re going to discuss the recent info surrounding HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC).
How are hedge funds trading HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management had the biggest position in HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC), worth close to $50.4 million, comprising 1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Diamond Hill Capital, managed by Ric Dillon, which held a $40.2 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital.
As one would understandably expect, specific money managers have jumped into HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) headfirst. Third Avenue Management, managed by Martin Whitman, created the most valuable position in HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC). Third Avenue Management had 50.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital also made a $40.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new HCC positions are John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, and Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital.
Insider trading activity in HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC)
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC). These stocks are White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM), Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL), RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR), Validus Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:VR), and American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG). This group of stocks are in the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps resemble HCC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Validus Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:VR) | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) | 19 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, average investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) is an important part of this process.
