Is CLARCOR Inc. (CLC) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Should CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC) investors track the following data?

If you were to ask many of your peers, hedge funds are assumed to be overrated, outdated financial vehicles of an era lost to time. Although there are over 8,000 hedge funds in operation currently, this site looks at the top tier of this club, around 525 funds. It is widely held that this group controls most of all hedge funds’ total assets, and by keeping an eye on their best stock picks, we’ve revealed a few investment strategies that have historically beaten the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum 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 outclassed the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (explore the details and some picks here).

Equally as crucial, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC)

What’s more, it’s important to examine the latest info for CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC).

Hedge fund activity in CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC)

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -27% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC), worth close to $52.8 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $38.3 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Ian Simm’s Impax Asset Management, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Due to the fact CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money’s best and brightest, we can see that there is a sect of hedgies that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising an estimated $1.4 million in stock. Jim Simons’s fund, Renaissance Technologies, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.7 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds heading into Q2.

What have insiders been doing with CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC)?

Insider buying made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC). These stocks are ADA-ES, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADES), Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCCI), Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC), Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE:CCC), and Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI). This group of stocks are in the pollution & treatment controls industry and their market caps are closest to CLC’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
ADA-ES, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADES) 12 0 0
Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCCI) 3 0 0
Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC) 9 0 0
Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE:CCC) 10 0 0
Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) 15 0 0

Using the returns shown by our studies, regular investors must always track hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Discover how hedge fund piggybacking can benefit you

Recommended reading:

Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About CLARCOR Inc. (CLC) Anymore

Insider Trading Activity

Hedge Fund Activity