Hedge Funds Are Dumping Urban Edge Properties (UE)

You probably know from experience that there is not as much information on small-cap companies as there is on large companies. Of course, this makes it really hard and difficult for individual investors to make a proper and accurate analysis of certain small-cap companies. However, well-known and successful hedge fund investors like Carl Icahn and George Soros hold the necessary resources and abilities to conduct an extensive stock analysis on small-cap stocks, which enable them to make millions of dollars by identifying potential winners within the small-cap galaxy of stocks. This represents the main reason why Insider Monkey takes notice of the hedge fund activity in these overlooked stocks.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund interest lately. Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) to other stocks including NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL), PDC Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PDCE), and Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) to get a better sense of its popularity.

According to most investors, hedge funds are assumed to be slow, outdated financial tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, Our researchers look at the leaders of this club, around 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people handles bulk of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by tracking their unrivaled picks, Insider Monkey has spotted a few investment strategies that have historically exceeded the broader indices. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.

Now, let’s analyze the fresh action surrounding Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE).

What does the smart money think about Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 8 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a decline of 20% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, D E Shaw has the most valuable position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE), worth close to $7 million, comprising less than 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is 40 North Management, managed by David S. Winter and David J. Millstone, which holds a $1.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining members of the smart money with similar optimism comprise Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management, Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Due to the fact that Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) has experienced a declining sentiment from the smart money, we can see that there exists a select few hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely in the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Peter Muller’s PDT Partners said goodbye to the largest position of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $1.3 million in stock. Cliff Asness’s fund, AQR Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $0.4 million worth of shares. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) but similarly valued. We will take a look at NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL), PDC Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PDCE), Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN), and J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)’s market cap.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 18 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $143 million. That figure was $11 million in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)’s case. PDC Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PDCE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) 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, PDC Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PDCE) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.