What Do Hedge Funds Think of Blount International, Inc. (BLT)?

Out of thousands of stocks that are currently traded on the market, it is difficult to determine those that can really generate strong returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors spend millions of dollars on analysts with MBAs and PhDs, who are industry experts and well connected to other industry and media insiders on top of that. Individual investors can piggyback the hedge funds employing these talents and can benefit from their vast resources and knowledge in that way. We analyze quarterly 13F filings of over 700 hedge funds and, by looking at the smart money sentiment that surrounds a stock, we can determine whether it has potential to beat the market over the long-term. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at what smart money thinks about Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT).

Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. BLT was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 24 hedge funds in our database with BLT holdings at the end of the previous quarter. 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 Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM), Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE:PHX), and ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) to gather more data points.

Now, we’re going to analyze the latest action surrounding Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT).

Hedge fund activity in Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT)

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -17% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, P2 Capital Partners, managed by Claus Moller, holds the biggest position in Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT). P2 Capital Partners has a $41.1 million position in the stock, comprising 8% of its 13F portfolio. On P2 Capital Partners’s heels is MFP Investors, led by Michael Price, holding a $5.9 million position; the fund has 0.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions comprise D E Shaw, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Seeing as Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there were a few hedgies that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Marc Majzner’s Clearline Capital said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, worth close to $4.7 million in stock, and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds last quarter.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT). We will take a look at Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM), Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE:PHX), ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI), and Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. (NYSE:ARP). This group of stocks’ market valuations match BLT’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $32 million. That figure was $114 million in BLT’s case. ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. (NYSE:ARP) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.