Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (DHX)?

DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. DHX shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with DHX positions at the end of the previous quarter.

DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX)

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Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are many reasons for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX).

What does the smart money think about DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -20% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Blue Harbour Group, managed by Clifton S. Robbins, holds the largest position in DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX). Blue Harbour Group has a $26.2 million position in the stock, comprising 2.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Alexander Medina Seaver of Stadium Capital Management, with a $10.8 million position; the fund has 2.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Seeing as DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of fund managers who were dropping their entire stakes heading into 2013. Intriguingly, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw dropped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we key on, worth about $0.2 million in stock., and Mike Vranos of Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.2 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds heading into 2013.

How are insiders trading DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) has seen 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 DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX). These stocks are Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI), Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI), AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS), Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA), and Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC). All of these stocks are in the staffing & outsourcing services industry and their market caps match DHX’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) 7 0 10
Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI) 5 7 0
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AHS) 15 1 8
Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) 10 0 1
Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC) 6 1 12

With the results exhibited by our research, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and DICE HOLDINGS, INC. (NYSE:DHX) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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