Hedge Funds Are Dumping Ameresco Inc (AMRC)

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Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC) has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.

In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation at present, we choose to focus on the masters of this club, around 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group controls most of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by paying attention to their top investments, we have determined a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outpaced the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (explore the details and some picks here).

Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the recent action regarding Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC).

What have hedge funds been doing with Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -38% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC)According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC). Royce & Associates has a $7.6 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is John A. Levin of Levin Capital Strategies, with a $3 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.

Judging by the fact that Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC) has witnessed a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there was a specific group of fund managers who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners said goodbye to the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we track, worth an estimated $0.8 million in stock., and Andrew R. Midler of Savitr Capital was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.2 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 3 funds last quarter.

How are insiders trading Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC) has experienced 3 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC). These stocks are Coleman Cable, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCIX), Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZOLT), Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST), Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ:PLPC), and Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESIO). This group of stocks are in the industrial electrical equipment industry and their market caps match AMRC’s market cap.

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