Investors Like Where Finish Line Inc (FINL) Is Headed

Legendary investors such as Leon Cooperman and Seth Klarman earn enormous amounts of money for themselves and their investors by doing in-depth research on small-cap stocks that big brokerage houses don’t publish. Small-cap stocks, especially when they are screened well, can generate substantial outperformance versus a boring index fund. That’s why we analyze the activity of those elite funds in these small-cap stocks. In the following paragraphs, we analyze Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) from the perspective of those elite funds.

Is Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) a buy right now? The best stock pickers are in a bullish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions went up by two recently. Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) was in 25 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 23 hedge funds in our database with Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) to other stocks including Lands’ End, Inc. (NASDAQ:LE), Seadrill Partners LLC (NYSE:SDLP), and Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) to get a better sense of its popularity.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are many metrics shareholders employ to appraise their holdings. A pair of the best metrics are hedge fund and insider trading signals. our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see the details here).

Now, let’s review the new action surrounding Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL).

What does the smart money think about Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 25 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long in this stock, an increase of 9% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, Royce & Associates, a mutual fund managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL). Royce & Associates has an $84.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management, with a $16.1 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other members of the smart money with similar optimism encompass Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and John Tompkins’ Tyvor Capital.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Hutchin Hill Capital, managed by Neil Chriss, initiated the largest position in Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL). Hutchin Hill Capital had $4.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies also initiated a $2.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) positions are Balyasny Asset Management, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, and Michael M. Rothenberg and David Sackler’s Moab Capital Partners.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) but similarly valued. These stocks are Lands’ End, Inc. (NASDAQ:LE), Seadrill Partners LLC (NYSE:SDLP), Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG), and Orion Engineered Carbons SA (NYSE:OEC). All of these stocks’ market caps resemble Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL)’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $141 million.That figure was $149 millions in Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL)’s case. Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Seadrill Partners LLC (NYSE:SDLP) is the least popular one with only six bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.