This Metric Says You Are Smart to Sell GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (GLF) – Newpark Resources Inc (NR), TETRA Technologies, Inc. (TTI)

GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. GLF has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with GLF holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of metrics investors can use to analyze Mr. Market. Two of the most under-the-radar 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 fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are plenty of incentives for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action surrounding GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF).

How have hedgies been trading GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -31% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, MFP Investors, managed by Michael Price, holds the most valuable position in GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF). MFP Investors has a $21.3 million position in the stock, comprising 3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $6.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Since GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there is a sect of hedge funds that slashed their entire stakes in Q4. At the top of the heap, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital said goodbye to the biggest stake of the 450+ funds we track, valued at close to $3.7 million in stock.. Cliff Asness’s fund, AQR Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds in Q4.

What have insiders been doing with GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF). These stocks are Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE:HOS), Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR), TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI), Exterran Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:EXLP), and C&J Energy Services Inc (NYSE:CJES). This group of stocks are the members of the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps resemble GLF’s market cap.

With the results shown by the aforementioned tactics, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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