The equity market returns were very disappointing in the third quarter, “thanks” to the slowdown of China’s economy and the weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data. It was not entirely clear whether the broader market sell-off made U.S. equity valuations undervalued, but it definitely made them more attractive. It is worth mentioning that Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) underperformed the broad-market S&P 500 ETF by more than 14 percentage points during the period of June 25, 2015 through October 30, 2015. This clearly points to the fact that most investors, including hedge fund firms and institutional investors, heavily cut their exposure to high-potential (but seemingly riskier) small-cap stocks during the bloody third quarter. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) and see how it was affected.
Brunswick Corporation was in 31 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. BC has experienced an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 28 hedge funds in our database with BC holdings at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings LLC (NYSEMKT:CQH), Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG), and Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) to gather more data points.
Follow Brunswick Corp (NYSE:BC)
Follow Brunswick Corp (NYSE:BC)
If you’d ask most investors, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, old financial tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at present, Our researchers look at the crème de la crème of this group, around 700 funds. These hedge fund managers shepherd most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by following their matchless picks, Insider Monkey has unsheathed several investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points a year for a decade in their back tests.
Now, let’s take a peek at the recent action regarding Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC).
What have hedge funds been doing with Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC)?
At Q3’s end, a total of 31 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 11% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Mariko Gordon’s Daruma Asset Management has the biggest position in Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC), worth close to $62.6 million, corresponding to 3.8% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $53.1 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish contain Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital.
