The government requires hedge funds and wealthy investors that crossed the $100 million equity holdings threshold are required to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn’t the intention, these filings level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F filings disclosed the funds’ positions on December 31. We at Insider Monkey have made an extensive database of nearly 750 of those elite funds and prominent investors’ filings. In this article, we analyze how these elite funds and prominent investors traded Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN) based on those filings.
Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN) investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. Our calculations also showed that DNKN isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, outdated financial vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, Our experts look at the elite of this group, about 750 funds. These money managers preside over the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping track of their finest stock picks, Insider Monkey has spotted numerous investment strategies that have historically beaten the market. Insider Monkey’s flagship hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by nearly 5 percentage points per year since its inception in May 2014 through early November 2018. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 27.5% since February 2017 (through March 12th) even though the market was up nearly 25% during the same period. We just shared a list of 6 short targets in our latest quarterly update and they are already down an average of 6% in less than a month.
Let’s take a peek at the key hedge fund action surrounding Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN).
How have hedgies been trading Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN)?
At Q4’s end, a total of 18 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 50% from the second quarter of 2018. By comparison, 15 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in DNKN a year ago. So, let’s find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Among these funds, Marshall Wace LLP held the most valuable stake in Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN), which was worth $60.9 million at the end of the third quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $24 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Citadel Investment Group, and GLG Partners were also bullish on Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Consequently, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, established the most outsized position in Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN). Renaissance Technologies had $24 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management also made a $2.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new DNKN positions are Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Bruce Kovner’s Caxton Associates LP, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT), YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF), Perrigo Company (NYSE:PRGO), and Healthcare Trust Of America Inc (NYSE:HTA). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble DNKN’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEFT | 31 | 214658 | 7 |
| YPF | 15 | 213817 | -2 |
| PRGO | 23 | 556413 | 2 |
| HTA | 17 | 394094 | 1 |
| Average | 21.5 | 344746 | 2 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 21.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $345 million. That figure was $109 million in DNKN’s case. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed that the top 15 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 21.3% year-to-date through April 8th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 5 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on DNKN, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 17.1% and outperformed the market as well.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
