Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT), Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc (NYSE:BEE): FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH): Insiders Are Buying, Should You?

FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH) investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of gauges investors can use to analyze stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of reasons for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the key action surrounding FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH).

How are hedge funds trading FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -6% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management had the biggest position in FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH), worth close to $30 million, accounting for 2.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Paulson & Co, managed by John Paulson, which held a $23 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Due to the fact that FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH) has witnessed falling interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings heading into 2013. At the top of the heap, Howard Guberman’s Gruss Asset Management sold off the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, comprising about $2 million in stock.. Steven Cohen’s fund, SAC Capital Advisors, also dropped its stock, about $0 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into 2013.

What have insiders been doing with FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH) has experienced 5 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH). These stocks are Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT), Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc (NYSE:BEE), Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB), Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE:CHSP), and Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AHT). This group of stocks are in the reit – hotel/motel industry and their market caps resemble FCH’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (NYSE:FCH) is no exception.