Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.
In the financial world, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the recent action surrounding Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI).
How have hedgies been trading Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -13% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI). Royce & Associates has a $75.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $5.9 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Judging by the fact that Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few hedgies who were dropping their full holdings in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the largest investment of the 450+ funds we monitor, worth about $0.3 million in stock., and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell of Arrowstreet Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in Q4.
How are insiders trading Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI). These stocks are DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX), Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA), AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS), Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI), and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY). All of these stocks are in the staffing & outsourcing services industry and their market caps match TBI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS) | 15 | 1 | 8 |
| Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI) | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) applies perfectly to this mantra.
