Is Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO) undervalued? The smart money is betting on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund positions increased by 1 recently.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of indicators shareholders can use to track their holdings. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outclass the market by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are lots of reasons for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the latest action surrounding Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO).
What does the smart money think about Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO), worth close to $13.6 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $1.1 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, established the most outsized position in Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO). Gotham Asset Management had 0.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.
How have insiders been trading Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero 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 Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO). These stocks are Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN), Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE), Cascade Corporation (NYSE:CASC), Alamo Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALG), and NACCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NC). This group of stocks belong to the farm & construction machinery industry and their market caps resemble CMCO’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN) | 16 | 0 | 5 |
| Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Cascade Corporation (NYSE:CASC) | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| Alamo Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALG) | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| NACCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NC) | 8 | 0 | 1 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO) is no exception.
