The Navigators Group, Inc (NAVG): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

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Like everyone else, elite investors make mistakes. Some of their top consensus picks, such as Micron and Anadarko Petroleum, have not done well during the last 12 months ending in October due to various reasons. Nevertheless, the data show elite investors’ consensus picks have done well on average. The top 30 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds at the end of September 2014 yielded an average return of 9.5% during the last four quarters ending in October and sixty three percent of these 30 stocks outperformed the market. S&P 500 Index returned only 5.2% during the same period and less than 49% of its constituents managed to beat this return. Because their consensus picks have done well, we pay attention to what elite funds think before doing extensive research on a stock. In this article, we take a closer look at The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG) from the perspective of those elite funds.

The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG) investors should pay attention to an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. NAVG was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with NAVG positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare NAVG to other stocks, including Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR), Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK), and Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Follow Navigators Group Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG)

In today’s marketplace there are many formulas stock market investors have at their disposal to size up publicly traded companies. Some of the less known formulas are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a healthy margin (see the details here).

Now, let’s review the recent action surrounding The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG).

Hedge fund activity in The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG)

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 15% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Renaissance Technologies holds the most valuable position in The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG). Renaissance Technologies has a $8.2 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $5.1 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other professional money managers with similar optimism contain Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.

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