Oxford Industries, Inc. (OXM): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. OXM investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with OXM positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to analyze their holdings. Some 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 best hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a variety of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a peek at the recent action surrounding Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM).

What have hedge funds been doing with Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Mariko Gordon’s Daruma Asset Management had the most valuable position in Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM), worth close to $3.9 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Richard Driehaus of Driehaus Capital, with a $1.5 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Because Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM) has experienced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there exists a select few hedge funds who sold off their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Mike Vranos’s Ellington sold off the largest investment of the 450+ funds we track, worth an estimated $0.5 million in stock. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM)?

Insider buying is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM). These stocks are Maidenform Brands, Inc. (NYSE:MFB), UniFirst Corp (NYSE:UNF), True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRLG), Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK), and G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII). This group of stocks are in the textile – apparel clothing industry and their market caps are closest to OXM’s market cap.