Is BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE) an outstanding investment today? Prominent investors are taking an optimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets went up by 4 lately.
To most investors, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds trading today, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the top tier of this club, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group controls the majority of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by tracking their highest performing picks, we have unearthed a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have trumped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).
Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a look at the latest action encompassing BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE).
How have hedgies been trading BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 29% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Consequently, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Arrowgrass Capital Partners, managed by Nick Niell, initiated the most outsized position in BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE). Arrowgrass Capital Partners had 32.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management also initiated a $9.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new BRE positions are Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Noam Gottesman’s GLG Partners.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE)?
Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE). These stocks are American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC), Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), Apartment Investment and Management Co. (NYSE:AIV), Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS), and Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME). This group of stocks are in the reit – residential industry and their market caps are similar to BRE’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC) | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| Apartment Investment and Management Co. (NYSE:AIV) | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME) | 5 | 1 | 10 |
With the returns exhibited by our research, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE) is an important part of this process.
