Should You Buy Actuant Corporation (ATU)?

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Now, according to many of your fellow readers, hedge funds are assumed to be overrated, outdated financial vehicles of a forgotten age. Although there are over 8,000 hedge funds with their doors open in present day, Insider Monkey looks at the aristocrats of this group, about 525 funds. Analysts calculate that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total assets, and by paying attention to their highest quality equity investments, we’ve found a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced 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 started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have topped the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find a sample of our picks).

Just as crucial, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the world of equities. Obviously, there are a variety of incentives for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).

What’s more, it’s important to discuss the latest info about Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU).

Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU)

How have hedgies been trading Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU)?

Heading into Q3, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 8% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Bares Capital Management, managed by Brian Bares, holds the most valuable position in Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU). Bares Capital Management has a $76.6 million position in the stock, comprising 7.5% of its 13F portfolio. On Bares Capital Management’s heels is Richard S. Pzena of Pzena Investment Management, with a $37.6 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Now, certain money managers have jumped into Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU) headfirst. Bares Capital Management, managed by Brian Bares, initiated the biggest position in Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU). Bares Capital Management had 76.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management also initiated a $37.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

What have insiders been doing with Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU). These stocks are Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO), ITT Corp (NYSE:ITT), Rexnord Corp (NYSE:RXN), Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC), and Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:ZBRA). This group of stocks are the members of the diversified machinery industry and their market caps are closest to ATU’s market cap.

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