What Hedge Funds Think About Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY)

Is Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) a buy?

In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as useful, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the marketplace. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s study the newest info for Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY).

How have hedgies been trading Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 33 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 18% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY), worth close to $168.6 million, accounting for 0.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $89.7 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include John Osterweis’s Osterweis Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital.

Consequently, particular hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, created the most outsized position in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY). Royce & Associates had 168.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also initiated a $89.7 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BBBY investors: John Osterweis’s Osterweis Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, and Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital.

What have insiders been doing with Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY). These stocks are Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN), Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT), Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH), Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR), and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM). This group of stocks belong to the home furnishing stores industry and their market caps match BBBY’s market cap.