Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. GMAN has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with GMAN holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
If you’d ask most stock holders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, old financial vehicles of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the moguls of this club, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the majority of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their best investments, we have unearthed a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. 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 trumped the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are a number of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action regarding Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN).
How have hedgies been trading Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -29% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management had the most valuable position in Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN), worth close to $1.7 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by McKinley Capital Management, managed by Robert B. Gillam, which held a $1.5 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Andrew Wallach’s Cumberland Associates, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Because Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, we can see that there is a sect of hedge funds who were dropping their full holdings in Q4. Interestingly, “Richard S. Meisenberg’s ACK Asset Management sold off the biggest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling about $1.7 million in stock., and Andy Redleaf of Whitebox Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.9 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in Q4.
How are insiders trading Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN). These stocks are Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM), Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR), Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH), Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT), and Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:KIRK). This group of stocks belong to the home furnishing stores industry and their market caps resemble GMAN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) | 22 | 0 | 6 |
| Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) | 13 | 0 | 6 |
| Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH) | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:KIRK) | 8 | 0 | 1 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned tactics, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN) is no exception.
