Is LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (LPNT) A Good Stock To Buy?

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Algert Coldiron Investors, managed by Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron, created the most valuable position in LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPNT). Algert Coldiron Investors had $1.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management also made a $1.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, and Joe DiMenna’s ZWEIG DIMENNA PARTNERS.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPNT). We will take a look at Genesee & Wyoming Inc (NYSE:GWR), SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM), Equity One, Inc. (NYSE:EQY), and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL). This group of stocks’ market values match LPNT’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 21 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $221 million, slightly lower than the $275 million in stock that hedge funds held invested in LPNT. Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) is the most popular stock in this table, while Equity One, Inc. (NYSE:EQY) is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPNT) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard WAL might be a better candidate to consider a long position.