Camden Property Trust (CPT) Hedge Funds Are Snapping Up

While the market driven by short-term sentiment influenced by uncertainty regarding the future of the interest rate environment in the US, the low commodity prices and the economic turmoil in China, many smart money investors are keeping their optimism regarding the current bull run, while still hedging many of their long positions. However, as we know, big investors usually buy stocks with strong fundamentals, which is why we believe we can profit from imitating them. In this article, we are going to take a look at the smart money sentiment surrounding Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT).

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) has experienced an increase in hedge fund interest in recent months. Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) was in 18 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article, we will examine companies such as Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX), Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK), and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (NYSE:SNI) to gather more data points.

To the average investor, there are numerous formulas stock market investors employ to evaluate stocks. A pair of the most underrated formulas are hedge fund and insider trading interest. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see the details here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the new action regarding Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT).

How have hedgies been trading Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 18 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, an increase of 38% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, AEW Capital Management, real estate manage company managed by Jeffrey Furber, holds the biggest position in Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT). AEW Capital Management has a $101.3 million position in the stock, comprising 2.4% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $75.3 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, and Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Echo Street Capital Management also initiated a $13.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CPT investors: Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, D E Shaw, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX), Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK), Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (NYSE:SNI), and Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN). All of these stocks’ market caps resemble Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT)’s market cap.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $646 million. That figure was $289 million in Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT)’s case. Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX) is the least popular one with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.