Hedge Funds Are Betting On Kimball International (KBALB)

Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. KBALB has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with KBALB holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are a multitude of gauges market participants can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A duo of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can beat the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the key action surrounding Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB).

How have hedgies been trading Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 10% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB), worth close to $9.2 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $3 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds have jumped into Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB) headfirst. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, established the most outsized position in Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB). Highbridge Capital Management had 0.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners also initiated a $0.1 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new KBALB position is Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.

How have insiders been trading Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, 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 Kimball International (NASDAQ:KBALB). These stocks are Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS), TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI), Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE), and Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (NASDAQ:MFLX). This group of stocks are in the printed circuit boards industry and their market caps match KBALB’s market cap.