The 700+ hedge funds and money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the third quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of September 30. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund positions. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW).
Hedge fund interest in Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator, coupled with the fact that the shares of Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW) were down 18.81% during the same period. The correlation between both is hard to validate, but it prompted us to find out more about the hedge funds holding stakes in Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW), at the end of September.
The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article, we will examine companies such as FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), and Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) to gather more data points.
Follow Seaspan Corp (NYSE:SSW)
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Today, there are dozens of gauges shareholders have at their disposal to grade their stock investments. A couple of the most underrated gauges are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can beat the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see the details here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the new action regarding Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW).
What does the smart money think about Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW)?
At the end of Q3, a total of 7 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, flat over the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy 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, Renaissance Technologies has the largest position in Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW), worth close to $17 million, accounting for less than 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Matthew Hulsizer of PEAK6 Capital Management, with a $2.4 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other members of the smart money that are bullish encompass D E Shaw, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Earlier we told you that the aggregate hedge fund interest in the stock was unchanged and we view this as a negative development. Even though there weren’t any hedge funds dumping their holdings during the third quarter, there weren’t any hedge funds initiating brand new positions. This indicates that hedge funds, at the very best, perceive this stock as dead money and they haven’t identified any viable catalysts that can attract investor attention.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW) but similarly valued. These stocks are FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), and Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to SSW’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| FFG | 7 | 11844 | -2 |
| CBU | 6 | 9692 | 0 |
| EXPR | 34 | 269084 | 4 |
| PCRX | 29 | 404784 | 4 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 19 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $174 million. That figure was $24 million in Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW)’s case. Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW) 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, Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
