Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.
In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, old investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the elite of this club, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by watching their highest performing investments, we have identified a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action encompassing Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT).
Hedge fund activity in Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 29% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management had the most valuable position in Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT), worth close to $11.7 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jeffrey Furber of AEW Capital Management, with a $9.2 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names have been driving this bullishness. McKinley Capital Management, managed by Robert B. Gillam, established the most outsized position in Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT). McKinley Capital Management had 0.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT). These stocks are Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC), Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT), Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS), Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:IRC), and Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI). This group of stocks are the members of the reit – retail industry and their market caps resemble RPT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Saul Centers Inc (NYSE:BFS) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:IRC) | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI) | 9 | 0 | 4 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) is no exception.
