Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) was also one of the favorite picks of hedge funds at the close of 2014, with the number of hedge funds having a stake in the company increasing to 36 from 33 at the end of the third quarter. However, hedge fund investment in the company decreased from to $3.33 billion from $3.84 billion, despite a strong fourth quarter in which Jack in the Box shares gained 16.5%. If funds were taking some of their profit from those gains with the expectation that the easy money had been made, they were wrong, as Jack in the Box has surged another 22.85% year-to-date.
Clifford Fox of Columbus Circle Investors increased his stake in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) by 34% last quarter. The position, comprised of 648,800 shares, was valued at $51.87 million at the end of the calendar year. With his 551,000 shares valued at $44 million, Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies is also a prominent stakeholder in the company, though he was one of the investors that trimmed his position slightly last quarter.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) saw a slight loss in investor confidence as the number of hedge funds with a stake in the company’s Mexican food products decreased to 35 from 38. However, the amount that these hedge funds had invested in Chipotle increased slightly from 1.18 billion to $1.22 billion during the same period. Jim Simons and Clifford Fox are also prominent stakeholders of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG). They own 307,200 shares and 257,700 shares respectively. Both funds increased their positions last quarter. After a torrid run from late 2012 to the middle of 2014, in which shares nearly tripled in value, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) is flat over the past six months.
Wendys Co (NASDAQ:WEN), the last candidate on our list, attracted less fund ownership than the leading four restaurants, but enjoyed the greatest increase in fund popularity during the quarter. Hedge fund ownership increased to 27 from 19, a 42% increase, with their invested capital also rising to $1.03 billion from $889.23 million, though Wendy’s strong fourth quarter, up 8.9% accounted for some of those gains.
Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners and Murray Stahl of Horizon Asset Management were two significant investors of Wendys Co (NASDAQ:WEN). Peltz’s stake of 64.8 million shares valued at $585.15 million comprises 6.2% of Trian’s portfolio value. Stahl also owns nearly 30.44 million shares with a market value of $274.88 million as of the end of the calendar year.
Wendys Co (NASDAQ:WEN) is up over 25% year-to-date on the back of strong same-store sales, which neared 3% during the fourth quarter, something which has been hard for other restaurant chains to achieve.
Disclosure: None
