Is The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL) going to take off soon? Investors who are in the know are selling. The number of bullish hedge fund bets shrunk by 2 recently.
To the average investor, there are tons of gauges investors can use to watch the equity markets. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action encompassing The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL).
What does the smart money think about The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the largest position in The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL). Fisher Asset Management has a $109.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Columbus Circle Investors, managed by Donald Chiboucis, which held a $75.6 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Crispin Odey’s Odey Asset Management Group, Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management and Bruce Kovner’s Caxton Associates LP.
Because The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there exists a select few hedgies that elected to cut their entire stakes heading into Q2. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the largest position of all the hedgies we key on, comprising about $20.9 million in stock., and Richard Driehaus of Driehaus Capital was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $5.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q2.
How have insiders been trading The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL). These stocks are Gafisa SA (ADR) (NYSE:GFA), Meritage Homes Corp (NYSE:MTH), M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC), KB Home (NYSE:KBH), and Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE:SPF). This group of stocks are in the residential construction industry and their market caps match RYL’s market cap.
