CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC) has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to monitor their holdings. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are many incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action surrounding CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC).
What have hedge funds been doing with CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -18% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management had the largest position in CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC), worth close to $8.5 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $6.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Judging by the fact that CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of funds who were dropping their positions entirely in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments cut the largest investment of the 450+ funds we monitor, worth close to $0.3 million in stock., and Israel Englander of Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.2 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds in Q4.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC). These stocks are Biglari Holdings Inc (NYSE:BH), Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ:DENN), Chuy’s Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CHUY), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRGB), and Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI). All of these stocks are in the restaurants industry and their market caps are similar to CEC’s market cap.
