Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR) has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.
At the moment, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to track stocks. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a peek at the key action encompassing Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR).
How have hedgies been trading Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Diamond Hill Capital, managed by Ric Dillon, holds the biggest position in Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR). Diamond Hill Capital has a $36.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Diamond Hill Capital’s heels is Select Equity Group, managed by Robert Joseph Caruso, which held a $13.3 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management.
Seeing as Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR) has faced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there is a sect of hedge funds that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management sold off the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising an estimated $0.8 million in stock. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
How have insiders been trading Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ:STNR). These stocks are Regis Corporation (NYSE:RGS), StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON), eLong, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:LONG), G&K Services Inc (NASDAQ:GK), and Stewart Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEI). All of these stocks are in the personal services industry and their market caps are closest to STNR’s market cap.
