Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN): Hedge Fund Sentiment Unchanged

The Insider Monkey team has completed processing the quarterly 13F filings for the September quarter submitted by the hedge funds and other money managers included in our extensive database. Most hedge fund investors endured a torrid quarter, which certainly propelled them to adjust their equity holdings so as to maintain the desired risk profile. As a result, the relevancy of these public filings and their content is indisputable, as they may reveal numerous high-potential stocks. The following article will discuss the smart money sentiment towards Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN).

Hedge fund interest in Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. At the end of this article we will also compare TITN to other stocks, including Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX), Superior Uniform Group Inc (NASDAQ:SGC), and Electrum Special Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ELECU) to get a better sense of its popularity.

At the moment there are dozens of indicators stock traders have at their disposal to evaluate their holdings. A duo of the less utilized indicators are hedge fund and insider trading signals. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see the details here).

Now, we’re going to view the key action encompassing Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN).

What have hedge funds been doing with Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, unchanged over the quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Rutabaga Capital Management, managed by Peter Schliemann, holds the most valuable position in Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN). Rutabaga Capital Management has an $9.5 million position in the stock, comprising 1.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Arrowstreet Capital, led by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, holding an $1.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other members of the smart money with similar optimism consist of Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

In addition, there were a few funds who sold off their entire stakes in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Carson Yost’s Yost Capital Management said goodbye to the largest position of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $6.8 million in stock. Joe Huber’s fund, Huber Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $3.8 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN). We will take a look at Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX), Superior Uniform Group Inc (NASDAQ:SGC), Electrum Special Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:ELECU), and Sigma Designs Inc (NASDAQ:SIGM). This group of stocks’ market values match TITN’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $59 million. That figure was just $17 million in TITN’s case. Sigma Designs Inc (NASDAQ:SIGM) is the most popular stock in this table, while Superior Uniform Group Inc (NASDAQ:SGC) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard SIGM might be a better candidate to consider a long position.