AFLAC Incorporated (AFL): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Now, key money managers have jumped into AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) headfirst. BlueCrest Capital Mgmt., managed by Michael Platt and William Reeves, created the most outsized position in AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL). BlueCrest Capital Mgmt. had $5.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Lawrence Sapanski’s Scoria Capital also initiated a $3.6 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new AFL investors: Wilfred Meckel’s Marque Millennium Capital, Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners, and Roger Ibbotson’s Zebra Capital Management.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL). These stocks are Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), O’Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY), Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC), and Aon PLC (NYSE:AON). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s market cap.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 35 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.96 billion. That figure was $769 million in AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s case. Out of these stocks, Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) and Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) were at the different ends of the ladder, with Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) being the first and Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) being the last. AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) 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, Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.