US Concrete Inc (USCR): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Is US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR) an attractive stock to buy now? The smart money is turning less bullish. The number of long hedge fund positions stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience

In the financial world, there are a multitude of methods shareholders can use to analyze their holdings. A duo of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of reasons for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR).

What have hedge funds been doing with US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Michael Weinstock’s Monarch Alternative Capital had the largest position in US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR), worth close to $5.3 million, comprising 5.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Monarch Alternative Capital’s heels is J. Carlo Cannell of Cannell Capital, with a $4.1 million position; the fund has 3.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Nancy Havens-Hasty’s Havens Advisors, Nelson Obus’s Wynnefield Capital and Phil Frohlich’s Prescott Group Capital Management.

Judging by the fact that US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR) has witnessed a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors cut the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, worth an estimated $1.4 million in stock. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Insider trading activity in US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR)

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR) has experienced 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 US Concrete Inc (NASDAQ:USCR). These stocks are AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON), Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX), PGT, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGTI), NCI Building Systems, Inc. (NYSE:NCS), and U.S. Lime & Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM). This group of stocks belong to the general building materials industry and their market caps are closest to USCR’s market cap.