Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (UTI): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Due to the fact that Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) has faced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there exists a select few hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, David Brown’s Hawk Ridge Management said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at about $0.9 million in stock. Ken Griffin’s fund, Citadel Investment Group, also cut its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) but similarly valued. These stocks are The L.S. Starrett Company (NYSE:SCX), Covisint Corp (NASDAQ:COVS), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), and Tenax Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TENX). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to UTI’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $18 million. That figure was $21 million in UTI’s case. The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand The L.S. Starrett Company (NYSE:SCX) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) 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.