At Insider Monkey, we pore over the filings of more than 700 top investment firms every quarter, a process we have now completed for the latest reporting period. The data we’ve gathered as a result gives us access to a wealth of collective knowledge based on these firms’ portfolio holdings as of September 30. In this article, we will use that wealth of knowledge to determine whether or not Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN) makes for a good investment right now.
Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. At the end of this article we will also compare SLGN to other stocks including Popular Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP), Microsemi Corporation (NASDAQ:MSCC), and Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow Silgan Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SLGN)
Follow Silgan Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SLGN)
At the moment there are tons of metrics investors use to evaluate publicly traded companies. A couple of the less known metrics are hedge fund and insider trading activity. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can trounce the broader indices by a significant amount (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the fresh action regarding Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN).
How are hedge funds trading Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 9 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -25% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Cardinal Capital, managed by Amy Minella, holds the biggest position in Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN). Cardinal Capital has a $48.2 million position in the stock, comprising 3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Lee Munder of Lee Munder Capital Group, with a $12.7 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that are bullish include Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management.
Judging by the fact that Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN) has witnessed a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedgies that decided to sell off their entire stakes heading into Q4. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies cut the biggest investment of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $1.2 million in stock. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s fund, Arrowstreet Capital, also cut its stock, about $1.1 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds heading into Q4.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN). We will take a look at Popular Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP), Microsemi Corporation (NASDAQ:MSCC), Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), and Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR). This group of stocks’ market caps match SLGN’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| BPOP | 30 | 708510 | -2 |
| MSCC | 12 | 82075 | -9 |
| WLL | 42 | 767203 | -11 |
| NBR | 22 | 229973 | -4 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 26.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $447 million. That figure was $66 million in SLGN’s case. Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Microsemi Corporation (NASDAQ:MSCC) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN) is even less popular than MSCC. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.
