Is LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) a good investment right now? We check hedge fund and billionaire investor sentiment before delving into hours of research. Hedge funds spend millions of dollars on Ivy League graduates, expert networks, and get tips from industry insiders. They fail miserably sometimes, but historically their consensus stock picks outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk factors.
Is LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) going to take off soon? Prominent investors are becoming more confident. The number of bullish hedge fund bets improved by 3 in recent months. LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) to other stocks, including Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW), FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), and Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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In today’s marketplace, there are numerous signals stock market investors employ to analyze publicly traded companies. A couple of the most useful signals are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see the details here).
Now, we’re going to take a glance at the fresh action encompassing LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC).
What have hedge funds been doing with LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, an increase of 60% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Renaissance Technologies holds the number one position in LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC). Renaissance Technologies has a $4.8 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $3.2 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other professional money managers with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management.
As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management established the most valuable position in LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC). Millennium Management had $1.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Visium Asset Management also made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Mike Vranos’ Ellington, Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors, and Peter Muller’s PDT Partners.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) but similarly valued. These stocks are Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW), FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), and Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR). This group of stocks’ market values resembles LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC)’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSW | 7 | 24084 | 0 |
| FFG | 7 | 11844 | -2 |
| CBU | 6 | 9692 | 0 |
| EXPR | 34 | 269084 | 4 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $79 million. That figure was $12 million in LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC)’s case. Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
