Team, Inc. (TISI): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?: RPX Corp (RPXC), Insperity Inc (NSP)

Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI) investors should be aware of an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.

In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are viewed as underperforming, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds trading today, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the moguls of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls most of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by paying attention to their best equity investments, we have determined a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year 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 topped the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (explore the details and some picks here).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a peek at the key action regarding Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI).

What have hedge funds been doing with Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Ariel Investments, managed by John W. Rogers, holds the most valuable position in Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI). Ariel Investments has a $38 million position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $22 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Richard S. Meisenberg’s ACK Asset Management, Scott Burney’s Bluefin Investment Management and Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. ACK Asset Management, managed by Richard S. Meisenberg, established the biggest position in Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI). ACK Asset Management had 7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management also made a $4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new TISI position is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

What have insiders been doing with Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI). These stocks are RPX Corp (NASDAQ:RPXC), Insperity Inc (NYSE:NSP), WNS (Holdings) Limited (ADR) (NYSE:WNS), LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN), and InnerWorkings, Inc. (NASDAQ:INWK). This group of stocks are in the business services industry and their market caps are closest to TISI’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned research, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds