Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. HTS has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with HTS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many gauges shareholders can use to watch publicly traded companies. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of reasons for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a peek at the key action encompassing Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS).
How have hedgies been trading Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -45% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management had the largest position in Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS), worth close to $13.7 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $12.6 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Due to the fact that Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) has faced falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers who sold off their full holdings in Q1. Intriguingly, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies dropped the largest investment of all the hedgies we track, totaling about $10.6 million in stock., and Andy Redleaf of Whitebox Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $7 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS). These stocks are Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME), Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS), ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR), Mid America Apartment Communities Inc (NYSE:MAA), and Post Properties Inc (NYSE:PPS). This group of stocks are in the reit – residential industry and their market caps are similar to HTS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME) | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Mid America Apartment Communities Inc (NYSE:MAA) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Post Properties Inc (NYSE:PPS) | 13 | 0 | 5 |
With the returns exhibited by our research, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
