The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. NAVG investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with NAVG positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators market participants can use to analyze Mr. Market. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are plenty of reasons for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action encompassing The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG).
What does the smart money think about The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 33% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG), worth close to $19.5 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Ric Dillon of Diamond Hill Capital, with a $11.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Now, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, established the most outsized position in The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG). Millennium Management had 0.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mike Vranos’s Ellington also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter.
What have insiders been doing with The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG). These stocks are Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG), Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT), Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE), Maiden Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MHLD), and Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN). This group of stocks are in the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps resemble NAVG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) | 13 | 0 | 5 |
| Maiden Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MHLD) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) | 10 | 0 | 3 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG) is no exception.
