Is Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK) A Good Stock To Buy?

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Now, key hedge funds have jumped into Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) headfirst. Melvin Capital Management established the most valuable position in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK). Melvin Capital Management had $42.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also initiated a $12.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) positions are Benjamin A. Smith’s Laurion Capital Management, and Michael Platt and William Reeves’s BlueCrest Capital Mgmt..

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK). We will take a look at The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX), Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS), and Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW). This group of stocks’ market caps is closest to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK)’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
CLX 31 904487 4
APA 45 1333302 13
ESS 22 289265 -2
PANW 47 914989 2

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 36 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $861 million. That figure was $990 million in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK)’s case. Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS) is the least popular one with only 22 bullish hedge fund positions. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) 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 Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.

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