Do Hedge Funds Love Astec Industries, Inc. (ASTE)?

As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. G2 Investment Partners Management, led by Josh Goldberg, established the most valuable position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE). According to its latest 13F filing, the fund had $0.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp also initiated a $0.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ASTE positions are John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE), Global Net Lease Inc(NYSE:GNL), Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE:SFL), and Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE:CHSP). This group of stocks’ market valuations match ASTE’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 6 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $21 million. That figure was $126 million in ASTE’s case. Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE:CHSP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) is 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.

Disclosure: none.