Is Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS) going to take off soon? The smart money is getting less optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets were trimmed by 1 lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to monitor Mr. Market. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the world of equities. There are many motivations for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action regarding Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS).
Hedge fund activity in Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS)
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -17% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management had the most valuable position in Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS), worth close to $1.4 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $1.1 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.
Since Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS) has faced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedge funds that slashed their entire stakes in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Thomas Bailard’s Bailard Inc dumped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, worth an estimated $0.3 million in stock.. Matthew Tewksbury’s fund, Stevens Capital Management, also dumped its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds in Q1.
Insider trading activity in Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time frame, Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 7 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 Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS). These stocks are Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI), Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc (NYSE:UBA), Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT), Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC), and Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:IRC). This group of stocks are the members of the reit – retail industry and their market caps resemble BFS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI) | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc (NYSE:UBA) | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC) | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:IRC) | 5 | 2 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS) is no exception.
