Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. CBRL investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund interest of late. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with CBRL positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Equally as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a peek at the recent action surrounding Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL).
Hedge fund activity in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL)
Heading into 2013, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the most valuable position in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL), worth close to $19 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Force Capital, managed by Robert Jaffe, which held a $13 million position; the fund has 2.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Since Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) has faced declining sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers who were dropping their entire stakes in Q4. Interestingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management dumped the largest stake of all the hedgies we track, worth an estimated $5 million in stock.. Neil Chriss’s fund, Hutchin Hill Capital, also dropped its stock, about $3 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Insider trading activity in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL)
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) has experienced 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL). These stocks are The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN), The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN), Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD), and Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK). This group of stocks belong to the restaurants industry and their market caps are similar to CBRL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) | 13 | 3 | 4 |
| Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) | 17 | 0 | 9 |
| Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) | 15 | 1 | 9 |
With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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