Hedge Funds Are Betting On Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG): Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (OZM), KKR & Co. L.P. (KKR)

Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG) has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently.

Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG)

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many gauges market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outperform the market by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a gander at the recent action regarding Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG).

Hedge fund activity in Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG)

At year’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 67% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Legg Mason Capital Management, managed by Bill Miller, holds the largest position in Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG). Legg Mason Capital Management has a $11 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Legg Mason Capital Management’s heels is Diamond Hill Capital, managed by Ric Dillon, which held a $8 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group.

Consequently, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Select Equity Group, managed by Robert Joseph Caruso, established the largest position in Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG). Select Equity Group had 4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Insider trading activity in Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG). These stocks are Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM), KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), AllianceBernstein Holding LP (NYSE:AB), Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE:WDR), and Federated Investors Inc (NYSE:FII). This group of stocks belong to the asset management industry and their market caps are closest to FIG’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM) 11 0 1
KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR) 19 0 2
AllianceBernstein Holding LP (NYSE:AB) 8 0 1
Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE:WDR) 10 0 7
Federated Investors Inc (NYSE:FII) 22 0 5

With the results shown by our tactics, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG) is an important part of this process.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds