Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

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Equally as crucial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the world of equities. There are a variety of motivations for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Furthermore, it’s important to examine the newest info about Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI).

How have hedgies been trading Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI)?

At Q2’s end, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 8% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

According to our 13F database, Chieftain Capital, managed by John Shapiro, holds the most valuable position in Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI). Chieftain Capital has a $233.5 million position in the stock, comprising 15.8% of its 13F portfolio. On Chieftain Capital’s heels is Blue Mountain Capital, managed by Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow, which held a $56.8 million position; 2.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Patrick Degorce’s Theleme Partners, Daniel Lewis’s Orange Capital and David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management.

As aggregate interest spiked, certain bigger names have jumped into Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) headfirst. Chieftain Capital, managed by John Shapiro, initiated the biggest position in Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI). Chieftain Capital had 233.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital also initiated a $56.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new HBI investors: Patrick Degorce’s Theleme Partners, Daniel Lewis’s Orange Capital, and David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI). These stocks are PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH), Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU), Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI), Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA), and Gildan Activewear Inc (USA) (NYSE:GIL). This group of stocks belong to the textile – apparel clothing industry and their market caps are closest to HBI’s market cap.

Using the returns demonstrated by the previously mentioned research, average investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) is no exception.

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