Hedge Funds Are Betting On AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (MITT): Crexus Investment Corp (CXS), iStar Financial Inc. (SFI)

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. MITT investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with MITT holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

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Just as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of stimuli for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT).

How are hedge funds trading AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 22% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital had the most valuable position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT), worth close to $11.2 million, accounting for 0.5% of its total 13F portfolio. On Ascend Capital’s heels is Angelo Gordon & Co, managed by John M. Angelo and Michael L. Gordon, which held a $9.4 million position; 0.8% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Now, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Angelo Gordon & Co, managed by John M. Angelo and Michael L. Gordon, created the largest position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT). Angelo Gordon & Co had 9.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Fichthorn’s Dialectic Capital Management also made a $3.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MITT positions are Bruce Kovner’s Caxton Associates LP, Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp, and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.

What have insiders been doing with AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT) has experienced 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT). These stocks are Crexus Investment Corp (NYSE:CXS), iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE:SFI), Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation (NYSE:ANH), Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI), and Excel Trust Inc (NYSE:EXL). All of these stocks are in the reit – diversified industry and their market caps match MITT’s market cap.

With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT) is an important part of this process.

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