Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Patrick Industries, Inc. (PATK)

Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK) has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.

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Richard Driehaus

Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are lots of motivations for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the key action surrounding Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK).

How have hedgies been trading Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

Of the funds we track, Jeffrey Gendell’s Tontine Asset Management had the biggest position in Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK), worth close to $66.2 million, accounting for 16.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, which held a $2.4 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, created the largest position in Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK). Driehaus Capital had 2.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors also made a $0.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK). These stocks are Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN), Advanced Environmental Recycling Tech. (PINK:AERT), Jewett-Cameron Trading Co Ltd. (NASDAQ:JCTCF), Deltic Timber Corp (NYSE:DEL), and Pope Resources L.P. (NASDAQ:POPE). This group of stocks are in the lumber, wood production industry and their market caps resemble PATK’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) 11 0 6
Advanced Environmental Recycling Tech. (PINK:AERT) 0 0 0
Jewett-Cameron Trading Co Ltd. (NASDAQ:JCTCF) 1 0 2
Deltic Timber Corp (NYSE:DEL) 4 0 6
Pope Resources L.P. (NASDAQ:POPE) 3 1 0

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK) is an important part of this process.

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