NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. NTRI has seen a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with NTRI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
At the moment, there are tons of methods shareholders can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the marketplace. There are a variety of stimuli for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the recent action regarding NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI).
What does the smart money think about NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -9% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI). Renaissance Technologies has a $17.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $9.6 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Because NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there were a few hedge funds who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, totaling 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 moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds last quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI)?
Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI). These stocks are Envirostar Inc (NYSEAMEX:EVI), Student Transportation Inc (NASDAQ:STB), Spark Networks Inc (NYSEAMEX:LOV), Intersections Inc. (NASDAQ:INTX), and Mac-Gray Corporation (NYSE:TUC). All of these stocks are in the consumer services industry and their market caps match NTRI’s market cap.
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| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Envirostar Inc (NYSEAMEX:EVI) | 0 | 0 | |
| Student Transportation Inc (NASDAQ:STB) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Spark Networks Inc (NYSEAMEX:LOV) | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Intersections Inc. (NASDAQ:INTX) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Mac-Gray Corporation (NYSE:TUC) | 3 | 2 | 1 |
With the returns demonstrated by our strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.