Is First Potomac Realty Trust (FPO) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. FPO shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with FPO positions at the end of the previous quarter, and in our experience, this is a bearish indicator.

In the financial world, there are tons of metrics investors can use to watch publicly traded companies. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the recent action encompassing First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO).

How are hedge funds trading First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management had the largest position in First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO), worth close to $34.1 million, comprising 0.9% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Martin Whitman of Third Avenue Management, with a $4.6 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Eric D. Hovde’s Hovde Capital, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

How have insiders been trading First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO). These stocks are Hudson Pacific Properties Inc (NYSE:HPP), Franklin Street Properties Corp. (NYSEAMEX:FSP), CapLease, Inc. (NYSE:LSE), Select Income REIT (NYSE:SIR), and CoreSite Realty Corp (NYSE:COR). This group of stocks are in the reit – office industry and their market caps are closest to FPO’s market cap.

With the results shown by our research, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds