International Speedway Corporation (ISCA): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. ISCA has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with ISCA positions at the end of the previous quarter.

International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA)

In the financial world, there are tons of metrics market participants can use to track stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can beat the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if you know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the latest action regarding International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA).

What have hedge funds been doing with International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA)?

At year’s end, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -25% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments had the biggest position in International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA), worth close to $137.4 million, comprising 2.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Ariel Investments’s heels is David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $22.6 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group, Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management and Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro’s PAR Capital Management.

Due to the fact that International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes at the end of the year. Interestingly, Mark Travis’s Intrepid Capital Management said goodbye to the biggest stake of all the hedgies we track, valued at about $9.8 million in stock.. David Costen Haley’s fund, HBK Investments, also dropped its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 4 funds at the end of the year.

What have insiders been doing with International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA). These stocks are Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:DVD), Bowl America Incorporated (NYSEAMEX:BWL-A), Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLUB), Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:TRK), and Life Time Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:LTM). This group of stocks are the members of the sporting activities industry and their market caps match ISCA’s market cap.

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Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:DVD) 6 1 0
Bowl America Incorporated (NYSEAMEX:BWL-A) 0 0
Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLUB) 12 1 5
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:TRK) 5 1 1
Life Time Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:LTM) 5 1 4

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned strategies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA) is an important part of this process.

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