Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.
To the average investor, there are tons of gauges market participants can use to watch stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).
Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are a number of motivations for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action regarding Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG).
Hedge fund activity in Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -29% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group had the most valuable position in Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG), worth close to $0.5 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $0.4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Mike Vranos’s Ellington and Thomas Bailard’s Bailard Inc.
Due to the fact that Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) has experienced bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few money managers who were dropping their full holdings in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management dropped the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising close to $7.5 million in stock., and D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.1 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds in Q4.
How are insiders trading Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG). These stocks are Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS), Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC), Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc (NYSE:UBA), Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY), and Cedar Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:CDR). This group of stocks are the members of the reit – retail industry and their market caps are closest to KRG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc (NYSE:UBA) | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Cedar Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:CDR) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
