Is Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR) a buy, sell, or hold? Prominent investors are becoming less hopeful. The number of bullish hedge fund positions dropped by 2 in recent months.
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With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a peek at the latest action surrounding Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR).
How are hedge funds trading Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -22% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR). Royce & Associates has a $49.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $25.8 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.
Judging by the fact that Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of funds who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, totaling close to $2.2 million in stock., and Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment Corp was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR). These stocks are Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI), Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI), Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS), Chart Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLS), and Sims Metal Management Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:SMS). This group of stocks belong to the metal fabrication industry and their market caps are similar to WOR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) | 19 | 1 | 2 |
| Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) | 21 | 1 | 4 |
| Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) | 18 | 1 | 6 |
| Chart Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLS) | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| Sims Metal Management Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:SMS) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
