Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME) has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment recently.
In the financial world, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action regarding Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME).
What have hedge funds been doing with Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -38% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, holds the largest position in Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME). D E Shaw has a $1.2 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On D E Shaw’s heels is John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma Advisors, with a $0.4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Because Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there were a few fund managers that elected to cut their positions entirely in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies we key on, comprising about $0.5 million in stock., and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron of Algert Coldiron Investors was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.2 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds in Q4.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME)?
Insider buying is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME). These stocks are Seneca Foods Corp (NASDAQ:SENEB), Seneca Foods Corp (NASDAQ:SENEA), Inventure Foods Inc (NASDAQ:SNAK), John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS), and Farmer Brothers Co. (NASDAQ:FARM). This group of stocks are in the processed & packaged goods industry and their market caps are closest to OME’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Seneca Foods Corp (NASDAQ:SENEB) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seneca Foods Corp (NASDAQ:SENEA) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Inventure Foods Inc (NASDAQ:SNAK) | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS) | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Farmer Brothers Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) | 8 | 1 | 1 |
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:OME) applies perfectly to this mantra.
