Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII) has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.
To the average investor, there are tons of metrics market participants can use to analyze Mr. Market. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the recent action surrounding Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII).
How are hedge funds trading Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital had the largest position in Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII), worth close to $257 million, accounting for 1.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Steven Richman of East Side Capital (RR Partners), with a $55 million position; the fund has 3.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Seeing as Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there were a few fund managers that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors dropped the largest position of the 450+ funds we track, comprising close to $13 million in stock., and SAC Subsidiary of Sigma Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII)
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII) is no exception.
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