Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Dril-Quip, Inc. (DRQ)

Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ) investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund interest recently.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can trounce the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are many reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the key action regarding Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ).

How have hedgies been trading Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management had the largest position in Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ), worth close to $33.8 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $19.5 million call position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Since Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ) has experienced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely in Q1. Intriguingly, Arvind Sanger’s GeoSphere Capital Management dumped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling an estimated $3.1 million in stock., and Mike Vranos of Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.3 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ)?

Insider buying is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ). These stocks are Forum Energy Technologies Inc (NYSE:FET), MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU), Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE:OIS), Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN), and RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES). This group of stocks are in the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps match DRQ’s market cap.