In this piece, we will take a look at the 15 stocks with lowest short interest. If you want to skip our introduction to short interest, then check out 5 Stocks With Lowest Short Interest.
Short selling is also quite entertaining if you're watching from the sidelines. And it was one aspect of the market that caught media waves by storm during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. The conditions created by the virus, namely lockdowns that left people with nothing much to do but sit in front of their computer screens and receive money from the government in the form of stimulus checks, created a rather interesting set of conditions. The retail investing boom of the pandemic is a well known fact by now, and one way in which it materialized was in the form of serious share price action around GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME).
GameStop is a well known retailer and is a one-stop shop for anyone's gaming needs. However, like other traditional brick and mortar retailers, the firm has struggled to adapt to a digital age, and its operations were particularly harmed when video game developers cut the middle man and allowed gamers to directly download games. Not only did this reduce the price that gamers paid for their favorite titles, but firms also managed to reduce the costs of selling games, in a win win situation for both that left GameStop scratching its head.
Analysts and hedge funds were as hawk eyed as ever and had shorted GameStop's shares as they believed that the firm would continue to bleed cash and lose market share. However, retail investors teamed up on Reddit and started buying the company's shares in bulk. These purchases were large enough to boost GameStop's share price from roughly $2.5 in April 2020 to a stunning $483 in January 2021 roughly three weeks after the meme buying frenzy started on Reddit. In the immediate aftermath of the retail stock frenzy, short sellers in GameStop had lost $6 billion and some hedge funds even went out of business.
Since then, even though GameStop buffeted its cash reserves by issuing more shares, the firm has been unable to successfully undertake a turnaround. GameStop has gone through multiple chief executive officers and chief financial officers and experimented with non fungible tokens (NFTs). The firm continues to post annual losses and its quarterly revenues continue to remain flat. However, GameStop still has plenty of cash left from its earlier share sales, so the jury's still out about the firm. As to what analysts think, the average share price target is $13.10 for a $5 downside from the current share price of $18.37. Analysts have also rated the shares as Underperform which have lost 35% over the past 12 months but made modest 6% gains this year.
So, looks like short sellers are often on the dot when they short stocks, and today we'll look at some stocks with the lowest short interest. As a primer, short interest measures the number of shares of a firm that are sold short on the market, and if you're interested in learning even more details about short selling and different strategies, then take a look at 16 Most Shorted Stocks Right Now. Some top stocks on today's list are Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON), Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM), and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE).
15 Stocks with Lowest Short Interest
Photo by AlphaTradeZone
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the stocks with the lowest short interest, we simply ranked the top fifteen stocks with the lowest short interest as a percentage of their float. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $300 million were chosen since micro cap and other smaller stocks often have limited liquidity which makes short selling difficult.
California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) is a utility company. The firm has slowly been expanding its operational portfolio this year through acquisitions and investments but these are yet to bear fruit as it has missed analyst EPS estimates in three of its four latest quarters.
By the end of this year's second quarter, 14 out of the 910 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had bought the firm's shares. California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)'s largest stakeholder is Ian Simm's Impax Asset Management through a stake worth $78.6 million.
Along with Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM), Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON), and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) is one stock with the lowest short interest.
Gambling.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:GAMB) is not a gambling company. Instead, it provides a marketing platform for online gambling service providers and owns several gambling websites. The stock has posted impressive 56% gains year to date and the firm's second quarter saw it grow revenue by 63% annually.
As of June 2023, 19 out of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in Gambling.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:GAMB). The firm's biggest hedge fund investor is Josh Goldberg's G2 Investment Partners Management since it owns 2 million shares that are worth $21 million.
Amdocs Limited (NASDAQ:DOX) is a technology company that provides a cloud computing platform. Despite a high rate and inflationary environment, the firm has either met or beat analyst EPS estimates in four of its latest quarters.
During this year's second quarter, 26 hedge funds out of the 910 surveyed by Insider Monkey had bought the firm's shares. Amdocs Limited (NASDAQ:DOX)'s largest hedge fund stakeholder is Richard S. Pzena's Pzena Investment Management since it holds a $456 million stake.
MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) is an electricity provider with operations in Wisconsin and Iowa. It is one of the weakest companies on our list, as analysts have penned in a $6 downside to the shares and rated them Underperform on average.
Only five investors out of the 910 part of Insider Monkey's database had invested in MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) as of Q2 2023 end. Out of these, the biggest shareholder is Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron's Algert Coldiron Investors since it owns 23,065 shares that are worth $1.8 million.
Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) is a chemicals company that serves the needs of a wide array of industries. Its shares are up a strong 62% year to date, helped by factors such as strong annual net income growth.
By the end of this year's second quarter, seven out of the 910 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had bought and invested in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)'s stock. Small cap guru Chuck Royce's Royce & Associates is the biggest hedge fund shareholder since it owns 89,940 shares that are worth $4.2 million.
Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) provides building and construction materials in several American states. The firm's gross profit and earnings per share grew in the second quarter, in a positive development for the construction industry.
As of June 2023, 49 out of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had held a stake in the company. Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)'s largest hedge fund stakeholder is Sharlyn C. Heslam's Stockbridge Partners courtesy of its $461 million investment.
Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON), Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM), Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), and Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) are some stocks that have low short interest.
Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) provides starch products for food production and textile use. 89% of its stock is owned by institutional investors, leaving the shares quite vulnerable to large and sudden downswings.
After digging through 910 hedge funds for their second quarter of 2023 shareholdings, Insider Monkey discovered that 30 had bought Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)'s shares. Out of these, the largest hedge fund investor is Donald Yacktman's Yacktman Asset Management through a $236 million investment.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) is a diversified insurance company headquartered in New York City. Following the trend in the industry to benefit from high interest rates, the firm has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
43 out of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey for this year's June quarter had invested in the company. American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG)'s biggest stakeholder among these is Natixis Global Asset Management's Harris Associates through its $1.2 billion stake.
Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) is an industrial product company that serves the needs of the construction industry. It has either met or beaten analyst EPS estimates in four of its latest quarters and the stock is rated Buy on average.
Insider Monkey scouted 910 hedge funds for their investments during 2023's second quarter and discovered 39 Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) investors. Ken Fisher's Fisher Asset Management is the biggest shareholder since it owns a $818 million stake.
SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) is a financial firm that provides debt to companies. The firm missed analyst EPS estimates for its second quarter and the stock is rated Buy on average.
As of June 2023, four out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's research had invested in the company. SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC)'s largest investor out of these is Robert B. Gillam's McKinley Capital Management through its $1.9 million stake.
Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON), SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC), Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM), and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) are stocks with the lowest short interest.
