Should You Buy Leucadia National Corp. (LUK)?

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Cove Street Capital, managed by Jeffrey Bronchick, initiated the largest position in Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK). Cove Street Capital had $12 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also initiated a $10.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are George Soros’ Soros Fund Management, Mike Vranos’s Ellington, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK) but similarly valued. We will take a look at IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX), Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TARO), Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII), and Reinsurance Group of America Inc (NYSE:RGA). This group of stocks’ market values match LUK’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 16 funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $170 million. That figure was $800 million in LUK’s case. Reinsurance Group of America Inc (NYSE:RGA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TARO) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.