World-class money managers like Bill Ackman and Barry Rosenstein only invest their wealthy clients’ money after undertaking a rigorous examination of any potential stock. They are particularly successful in this regard when it comes to small-cap stocks, which their peerless research gives them a big information advantage on when it comes to judging their worth. It’s not surprising then that they generate their biggest returns from these stocks and invest more of their money in these stocks on average than other investors. It’s also not surprising then that we pay close attention to these picks ourselves and have built a market-beating investment strategy around them.
Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP) was in 16 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. FSP has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with FSP positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare FSP to other stocks including Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC), Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS), and ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBS) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow Franklin Street Properties Corp (NYSE:FSP)
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Now, let’s take a gander at the fresh action encompassing Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP).
Hedge fund activity in Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP)
Heading into Q4, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 78% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Forward Management, managed by J. Alan Reid, Jr., holds the largest position in Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP). Forward Management has an $41.4 million position in the stock, comprising 3.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which holds an $10.7 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions consist of Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Marshall Wace LLP, managed by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, assembled the most valuable position in Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP). Marshall Wace LLP had $5.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Simon Sadler’s Segantii Capital also made an $2.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Peter Muller’s PDT Partners, Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, and Ray Carroll’s Breton Hill Capital.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP). We will take a look at Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC), Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS), ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBS), and Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT). This group of stocks’ market valuations match FSP’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOC | 16 | 53013 | -1 |
| AEIS | 14 | 95940 | -4 |
| SFBS | 10 | 33662 | -1 |
| HT | 9 | 63047 | -2 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 12.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $61 million. That figure was $79 million in FSP’s case. Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. That, when taken in combination with the rise in the total number of funds long the stock, makes FSP worth a closer look.
