Insteel Industries Inc (IIIN): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

We already know that not all hedge funds are bullish on the stock and some hedge funds actually got rid of their positions entirely. Intriguingly, Peter Schliemann’s Rutabaga Capital Management got rid of the largest stake of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $3.5 million in stock, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.4 million worth of shares.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Insteel Industries Inc (NASDAQ:IIIN) but similarly valued. These stocks are First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO), First Trust High Income Long/short Fund (NYSE:FSD), Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC), and Hemisphere Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:HMTV). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to IIIN’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $53 million. That figure was $69 million in IIIN’s case. Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand First Trust High Income Long/short Fund (NYSE:FSD) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Insteel Industries Inc (NASDAQ:IIIN) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard HSC might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: None