Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A couple of the best 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 best money managers can outpace the market by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of stimuli for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the key action encompassing Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR).
How are hedge funds trading Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)?
At year’s end, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 15% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR). Royce & Associates has a $122 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, which held a $9 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, initiated the largest position in Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR). Balyasny Asset Management had 9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also initiated a $4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new LSTR positions are Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management, Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.
How are insiders trading Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR)?
Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR). These stocks are Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL), Swift Transportation Co (NYSE:SWFT), China Wind Power International Corp. (CVE:CNW), Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN), and Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX). This group of stocks are in the trucking industry and their market caps are similar to LSTR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Swift Transportation Co (NYSE:SWFT) | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| China Wind Power International Corp. (CVE:CNW) | 14 | 0 | 7 |
| Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) | 20 | 0 | 3 |
| Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX) | 12 | 0 | 4 |
With the results exhibited by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) applies perfectly to this mantra.
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