Is Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) a bargain? Prominent investors are in a bearish mood. The number of long hedge fund positions stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience
In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A duo of the most useful 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 fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are a number of stimuli for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the key action surrounding Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE).
What does the smart money think about Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE)?
At year’s end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management had the biggest position in Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE), worth close to $27 million, comprising 0.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is John Thiessen of Vertex One Asset Management, with a $14 million position; the fund has 2.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Yale M. Fergang and Robert W. Medway’s Royal Capital and John Fichthorn’s Dialectic Capital Management.
Since Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there exists a select few money managers that slashed their entire stakes at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group cut the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, worth an estimated $0 million in stock. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Insider trading activity in Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE)
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE). These stocks are Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII), MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG), FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN), and The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG). This group of stocks are in the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps resemble GLRE’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) | 20 | 6 | 1 |
| FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) is an important part of this process.
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