AECOM (ACM): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

The Insider Monkey team has completed processing the quarterly 13F filings for the September quarter submitted by the hedge funds and other money managers included in our extensive database. Most hedge fund investors endured a torrid quarter, which certainly propelled them to adjust their equity holdings so as to maintain the desired risk profile. As a result, the relevancy of these public filings and their content is indisputable, as they may reveal numerous high-potential stocks. The following article will discuss the smart money sentiment towards AECOM (NYSE:ACM).

Is AECOM (NYSE:ACM) the right pick for your portfolio? Hedge funds are becoming less confident. The number of bullish hedge fund bets decreased by 5 in recent months. AECOM (NYSE:ACM) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 27 hedge funds in our database with AECOM (NYSE:ACM) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. 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 AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR), Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR), and Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) to gather more data points.

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At the moment, there is a large number of indicators shareholders use to analyze stocks. A duo of the most innovative indicators are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can trounce the broader indices by a superb margin (see the details here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing AECOM (NYSE:ACM).

How have hedgies been trading AECOM (NYSE:ACM)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 22 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a decline of 19% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Greenlight Capital, managed by David Einhorn, holds the number one position in AECOM (NYSE:ACM). Greenlight Capital has a $178 million position in the stock, comprising 3% of its 13F portfolio. On Greenlight Capital’s heels is Pzena Investment Management, led by Richard S. Pzena, holding a $76.9 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism contain Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital, Robert Polak’s Anchor Bolt Capital, and Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP.

Judging by the fact that AECOM (NYSE:ACM) has experienced a bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, we can see that there were a few funds who were dropping their positions entirely heading into Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Alexander Roepers’s Atlantic Investment Management dumped the biggest stake of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $15.3 million in stock, and Eric Edidin and Josh Lobel’s Archer Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $9.4 million worth of shares. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds heading into Q4.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as AECOM (NYSE:ACM) but similarly valued. These stocks are AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR), Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR), Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET), and Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM). This group of stocks’ market caps matches AECOM (NYSE:ACM)’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
ATR 18 101128 3
ALR 39 1344275 3
ANET 22 235609 2
COLM 19 141806 4

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $456 million. That figure was $448 million in AECOM (NYSE:ACM)’s case. Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) is the least popular one with only 18 bullish hedge fund positions. AECOM (NYSE:ACM) 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, Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.