What Do Hedge Funds Think of International Game Technology (IGT)?

We at Insider Monkey have gone over 700 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the government. The 13F filings show the funds’ and investors’ portfolio positions as of September 30. In this article, we look at what those funds think of International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) based on that data.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. IGT investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with IGT positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare IGT to other stocks including The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), Companhia de Saneamento Basico (ADR) (NYSE:SBS), and Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) to get a better sense of its popularity.

In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are seen as slow, old investment tools of years past. While there are more than an 8000 funds in operation today, We hone in on the leaders of this group, approximately 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors command bulk of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by tailing their best picks, Insider Monkey has unsheathed several investment strategies that have historically exceeded the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points a year for a decade in their back tests.

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the recent action regarding International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT).

What does the smart money think about International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 5% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, BloombergSen, managed by Jonathan Bloomberg, holds the number one position in International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT). BloombergSen has a $84.1 million position in the stock, comprising 4.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is OZ Management, managed by Daniel S. Och, which holds a $73.7 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining professional money managers that hold long positions encompass Bernard Horn’s Polaris Capital Management, Jamie Zimmerman’s Litespeed Management and Shane Finemore’s Manikay Partners.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names have jumped into International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) headfirst. BloombergSen, managed by Jonathan Bloomberg, initiated the most outsized position in International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT). BloombergSen had $84.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Shane Finemore’s Manikay Partners also initiated a $42.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new IGT positions are Millennium Management Subsidiary’s Green Arrow Capital Management, Peter Muller’s PDT Partners, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT). We will take a look at The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), Companhia de Saneamento Basico (ADR) (NYSE:SBS), Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI), and Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to IGT’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 23 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $441 million. That figure was $481 million in IGT’s case. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Companhia de Saneamento Basico (ADR) (NYSE:SBS) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) 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 AWI might be a better candidate to consider a long position.