In the financial world, there are a multitude of indicators market participants can use to analyze their holdings. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outclass the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are lots of incentives for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B).
How are hedge funds trading Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -13% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Jeffrey Gates’s Gates Capital Management had the most valuable position in Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B), worth close to $24.6 million, comprising 1.3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $18.2 million position; the fund has 0.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Judging by the fact that Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) has experienced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that decided to sell off their full holdings heading into Q2. Interestingly, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management cut the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, valued at close to $0.7 million in stock.. Paul Tudor Jones’s fund, Tudor Investment Corp, also cut its stock, about $0.6 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q2.
What have insiders been doing with Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B). These stocks are Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY), Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA), EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO), TriMas Corp (NASDAQ:TRS), and Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS). This group of stocks are the members of the industrial equipment & components industry and their market caps are similar to B’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY) | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) | 31 | 3 | 1 |
| EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO) | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| TriMas Corp (NASDAQ:TRS) | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS) | 10 | 0 | 3 |
With the results demonstrated by our tactics, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) is an important part of this process.
