Is Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) going to take off soon? Money managers are in a bearish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions dropped by 1 in recent months.
At the moment, there are a multitude of metrics market participants can use to watch Mr. Market. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. There are lots of stimuli for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action regarding Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS).
What have hedge funds been doing with Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, holds the most valuable position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS). D E Shaw has a $104.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jeffrey Furber of AEW Capital Management, with a $58.1 million position; 1.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Because Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) has faced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few money managers who sold off their full holdings in Q1. Interestingly, Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management dropped the largest position of the 450+ funds we track, comprising about $36 million in stock.. John Khoury’s fund, Long Pond Capital, also dropped its stock, about $8.5 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in Q1.
What have insiders been doing with Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS). These stocks are Post Properties Inc (NYSE:PPS), Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS), BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE), Mid America Apartment Communities Inc (NYSE:MAA), and Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME). All of these stocks are in the reit – residential industry and their market caps are similar to ELS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Post Properties Inc (NYSE:PPS) | 13 | 0 | 5 |
| Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| BRE Properties Inc (NYSE:BRE) | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| Mid America Apartment Communities Inc (NYSE:MAA) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME) | 5 | 1 | 10 |
With the results exhibited by our time-tested strategies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) is no exception.
