As one would reasonably expect, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Millennium Management established the most valuable position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp (NYSE:ACRE). Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also initiated a $0.6 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new ACRE position is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp (NYSE:ACRE) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI), Clifton Savings Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSBK), Independent Bank Corporation(MI) (NASDAQ:IBCP), and Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to ACRE’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBSI | 4 | 12278 | -4 |
| CSBK | 12 | 45249 | 0 |
| IBCP | 10 | 58171 | 1 |
| CLSD | 5 | 79949 | -3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $49 million. That figure was $10 million in ACRE’s case. Clifton Savings Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSBK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp (NYSE:ACRE) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard CSBK might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
