Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. TESO has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with TESO holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as unimportant, old investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at present, we look at the leaders of this group, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group oversees most of the smart money’s total capital, and by monitoring their highest performing picks, we have formulated a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (explore the details and some picks here).
Equally as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of motivations for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
Now, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action regarding Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO).
Hedge fund activity in Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO)
Heading into 2013, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 8% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO), worth close to $48 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, which held a $16 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, created the most outsized position in Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO). Balyasny Asset Management had 16 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TESO positions are Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.
What have insiders been doing with Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO). These stocks are TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI), Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR), Synergy Resources Corp (NYSEAMEX:SYRG), Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS), and Willbros Group Inc (NYSE:WG). This group of stocks are in the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps are similar to TESO’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) | 13 | 7 | 0 |
| Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Synergy Resources Corp (NYSEAMEX:SYRG) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS) | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| Willbros Group Inc (NYSE:WG) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
Click here to learn more about Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Newsletter
Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 37% between September 2012 and March 2013 versus 12.9% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.
