Is Universal Corp (UVV) A Good Stock To Buy?

Judging by the fact that Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) has faced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few hedgies who sold off their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management sold off the largest investment of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $4.9 million in stock, and Neil Chriss’ Hutchin Hill Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $2.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 5 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV). We will take a look at First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS), Axiall Corp (NYSE:AXLL), and Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE). This group of stocks’ market valuations match UVV’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $149 million, higher than the $76 million that hedge funds we track amassed in UVV’s stock. Axiall Corp (NYSE:AXLL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions, which is the same as in Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV)’s case. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard AXLL might be a better candidate to consider a long position.