Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. TBI investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with TBI positions at the end of the previous quarter.
If you’d ask most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, old investment tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds trading at present, we hone in on the moguls of this club, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group oversees the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by paying attention to their top picks, we have discovered a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see the details here).
Consequently, let’s take a gander at the key action encompassing Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI).
How have hedgies been trading Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 25% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI), worth close to $60.2 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $7.6 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, initiated the biggest position in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI). Renaissance Technologies had 2.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also made a $1.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TBI positions are Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI). These stocks are DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX), Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA), AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS), Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI), and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY). This group of stocks belong to the staffing & outsourcing services industry and their market caps match TBI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS) | 15 | 0 | 8 |
| Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI) | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) is an important part of this process.
