Is Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) buy?
In the eyes of many traders, hedge funds are perceived as bloated, outdated investment vehicles of a forgotten age. Although there are more than 8,000 hedge funds with their doors open currently, Insider Monkey focuses on the upper echelon of this group, about 525 funds. It is widely held that this group has its hands on the majority of the smart money’s total capital, and by paying attention to their highest performing stock picks, we’ve uncovered a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have trumped the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find the details here).
Just as useful, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you understand where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to discuss the recent info for Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG).
How are hedge funds trading Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
According to our 13F database, Prescott Group Capital Management, managed by Phil Frohlich, holds the largest position in Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG). Prescott Group Capital Management has a $38.3 million position in the stock, comprising 9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Private Capital Management, managed by Gregg J. Powers, which held a $19.1 million position; the fund has 1.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Jay Petschek and Steven Major’s Corsair Capital Management, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.
Now, particular hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Prescott Group Capital Management, managed by Phil Frohlich, initiated the largest position in Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG). Prescott Group Capital Management had 38.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management also made a $19.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ATSG investors: Jay Petschek and Steven Major’s Corsair Capital Management, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.
What have insiders been doing with Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG). These stocks are UTi Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:UTIW), Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG), Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS), and XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO). All of these stocks are in the air delivery & freight services industry and their market caps are similar to ATSG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| UTi Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:UTIW) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns explained by our strategies, regular investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) is an important part of this process.
