Is Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) a healthy stock for your portfolio? Prominent investors are in an optimistic mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions increased by 12 in recent months.
At the moment, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to monitor their holdings. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are many stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a look at the key action regarding Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR).
What have hedge funds been doing with Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 54 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 29% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Fortress Investment Group, managed by Michael Novogratz, holds the largest position in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR). Fortress Investment Group has a $520.9 million position in the stock, comprising 8.9% of its 13F portfolio. On Fortress Investment Group’s heels is SPO Advisory Corp, managed by John H. Scully, which held a $511.1 million position; the fund has 6.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital, Robert Pitts’s Steadfast Capital Management and Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. SPO Advisory Corp, managed by John H. Scully, initiated the most outsized position in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR). SPO Advisory Corp had 511.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management also made a $181.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CHTR investors: John Lykouretzos’s Hoplite Capital Management, Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management, and Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR). These stocks are Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA), Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED), and Shaw Communications Inc (USA) (NYSE:SJR). This group of stocks are in the catv systems industry and their market caps match CHTR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) | 16 | 1 | 5 |
| Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) | 75 | 0 | 0 |
| DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) | 39 | 0 | 11 |
| Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED) | 59 | 0 | 9 |
| Shaw Communications Inc (USA) (NYSE:SJR) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns shown by our studies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
