Should You Buy Wabash National Corporation (WNC)?

Consequently, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Masters Capital Management, managed by Mike Masters, initiated the largest call position in Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC). The fund had $1.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors also made an $0.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new WNC positions are Mike Vranos’s Ellington, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC) but similarly valued. These stocks are Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS), Merge Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ:MRGE), The Providence Service Corporation (NASDAQ:PRSC), and Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble WNC’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 12 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $81 million. That figure was $66 million in WNC’s case, which is not very encouraging. The Providence Service Corporation (NASDAQ:PRSC) is the most popular stock in this table, while Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI) is the laggard with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC) is clearly more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.