Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Perry Ellis International, Inc. (PERY): Joe’s Jeans Inc (JOEZ), True Religion Apparel, Inc. (TRLG)

Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY) has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.

In today’s marketplace, there are many metrics shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a solid amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a gander at the latest action regarding Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY).

How are hedge funds trading Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY)?

At year’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 60% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY). Royce & Associates has a $18 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Joel Greenblatt of Gotham Asset Management, with a $2 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Buckingham Capital Management, managed by David Keidan, assembled the most valuable position in Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY). Buckingham Capital Management had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.

How are insiders trading Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY). These stocks are Joe’s Jeans Inc (NASDAQ:JOEZ), True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRLG), Delta Apparel, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:DLA), Maidenform Brands, Inc. (NYSE:MFB), and American Apparel Inc. (NYSEAMEX:APP). All of these stocks are in the textile – apparel clothing industry and their market caps resemble PERY’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned research, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds