It seems that the masses and most of the financial media hate hedge funds and what they do, but why is this hatred of hedge funds so prominent? At the end of the day, these asset management firms do not gamble the hard-earned money of the people who are on the edge of poverty. Truth be told, most hedge fund managers and other smaller players within this industry are very smart and skilled investors. Of course, they may also make wrong bets in some instances, but no one knows what the future holds and how market participants will react to the bountiful news that floods in each day. The S&P 500 Index gained 5.2% in the 12 month-period that ended October 30, while less than 49% of its stocks beat the benchmark. In contrast, the 30 most popular S&P 500 stocks among the hedge fund investors tracked by the Insider Monkey team returned 9.5% over the same period, which provides evidence that these money managers do have great stock picking abilities. Even more to that, 63% of these stocks managed to beat the S&P 500 Index. That’s why we believe it isn’t a waste of time to check out hedge fund sentiment before you invest in a stock like Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS).
Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS) has witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF), and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) to gather more data points.
Follow Total System Services Inc (NYSE:TSS)
Follow Total System Services Inc (NYSE:TSS)
To the average investor, there are numerous gauges investors employ to value their holdings. A duo of the most underrated gauges are hedge fund and insider trading moves. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the fresh action encompassing Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS).
How have hedgies been trading Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 25 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 39% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS). Citadel Investment Group has a $89.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $34.2 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining members of the smart money that hold long positions encompass Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management and Tim Curro’s Value Holdings LP.
