Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE) has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.
If you’d ask most traders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading today, we at Insider Monkey look at the moguls of this club, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group controls the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by monitoring their best picks, we have unearthed a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually 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 outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the key action regarding Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE).
How have hedgies been trading Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -22% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE). Renaissance Technologies has a $30.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, which held a $9.9 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Carl Tiedemann and Michael Tiedemann’s TIG Advisors, and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Since Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE) has experienced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there were a few money managers that slashed their positions entirely at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw dropped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, totaling close to $12 million in stock.. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s fund, Adage Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $1.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds at the end of the year.
How are insiders trading Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE). These stocks are Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP), Tahoe Resources Inc (NYSE:TAHO), Natural Resource Partners LP (NYSE:NRP), Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP), and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF). This group of stocks are in the industrial metals & minerals industry and their market caps are similar to TIE’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Tahoe Resources Inc (NYSE:TAHO) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Natural Resource Partners LP (NYSE:NRP) | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) | 23 | 1 | 5 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE) is an important part of this process.
