McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) has experienced an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of gauges market participants can use to analyze their holdings. A duo of the most innovative 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 best fund managers can beat the market by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action regarding McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC).
How are hedge funds trading McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the biggest position in McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC), worth close to $9.1 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $5 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Now, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, established the biggest position in McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC). D E Shaw had 0.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 12 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC). These stocks are Electro Rent Corporation (NASDAQ:ELRC), Fly Leasing Ltd(ADR) (NYSE:FLY), seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX), CAI International Inc (NYSE:CAP), and Aircastle Limited (NYSE:AYR). All of these stocks are in the rental & leasing services industry and their market caps resemble MGRC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Electro Rent Corporation (NASDAQ:ELRC) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Fly Leasing Ltd(ADR) (NYSE:FLY) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| CAI International Inc (NYSE:CAP) | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Aircastle Limited (NYSE:AYR) | 18 | 1 | 2 |
With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) is no exception.
