Is Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL) worth your attention right now? Money managers are becoming less hopeful. The number of long hedge fund positions shrunk by 5 lately.
In the financial world, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to watch their holdings. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can beat the broader indices by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are a number of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the latest action surrounding Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL).
What does the smart money think about Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -18% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments had the biggest position in Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL), worth close to $104.6 million, comprising 1.8% of its total 13F portfolio. On Ariel Investments’s heels is Theleme Partners, managed by Patrick Degorce, which held a $99.4 million position; 7.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Due to the fact that Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there were a few money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely in Q1. Intriguingly, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, valued at an estimated $114.7 million in stock., and Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin of Senator Investment Group was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $67.9 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL). These stocks are Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LCUT), Libbey Inc. (NYSEAMEX:LBY), Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE), The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX), and Jarden Corp (NYSE:JAH). All of these stocks are in the housewares & accessories industry and their market caps are closest to NWL’s market cap.
