Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Delhaize Group (ADR) (DEG)

Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many gauges investors can use to watch their holdings. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a gander at the recent action surrounding Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG).

What have hedge funds been doing with Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG). Renaissance Technologies has a $16.4 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $5.1 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Seeing as Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of money managers that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q2. Intriguingly, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group sold off the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, totaling about $0.5 million in stock. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG). These stocks are The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM), Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI), Companhia Brasileira de Distrib. (ADR) (NYSE:CBD), Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY), and Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY). All of these stocks are in the grocery stores industry and their market caps are similar to DEG’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by the aforementioned studies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Delhaize Group (ADR) (NYSE:DEG) is no exception.

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