Hedge funds and large money managers usually invest with a focus on the long-term horizon and, therefore, short-lived dips on the charts, usually don’t make them change their opinion towards a company. This time it may be different. During the third quarter we observed increased volatility and small-cap stocks underperformed the market. Hedge fund investor letters indicated that they are cutting their overall exposure, closing out some position and doubling down on others. Let’s take a look at the hedge fund sentiment towards Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX) to find out whether it was one of their high conviction long-term ideas.
Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX) shares haven’t seen a lot of action during the third quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. 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 Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CATB), Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI), and Farmland Partners Inc (NYSE:FPI) to gather more data points.
Follow Northwest Pipe Co (NASDAQ:NWPX)
Follow Northwest Pipe Co (NASDAQ:NWPX)
In today’s marketplace, there is a multitude of formulas that investors use to grade publicly traded companies. A pair of the most useful formulas are hedge fund and insider trading activity. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a superb margin (see the details here).
Now, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX).
How are hedge funds trading Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, flat over the last quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund and institutional investor database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX). Royce & Associates has a $15.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Westerly Capital Management, managed by Jim Tarantino and Chris Galvin, which holds a $1 million position; 1.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism comprise D E Shaw, Charles Paquelet’s Skylands Capital, and Renaissance Technologies.
