Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. RPAI has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with RPAI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
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Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a gander at the key action surrounding Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI).
Hedge fund activity in Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI)
Heading into 2013, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 17% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Forward Management, managed by J. Alan Reid, Jr., holds the biggest position in Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI). Forward Management has a $20.1 million position in the stock, comprising 1.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Forward Management’s heels is AEW Capital Management, managed by Jeffrey Furber, which held a $18.3 million position; the fund has 0.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, established the most valuable position in Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI). Renaissance Technologies had 2.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also initiated a $1.3 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
How have insiders been trading Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI) has seen 3 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI). These stocks are Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE:NCT), Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD), Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE:CIM), Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI), and MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA). This group of stocks belong to the reit – diversified industry and their market caps are similar to RPAI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE:NCT) | 21 | 2 | 0 |
| Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) | 20 | 1 | 1 |
| Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE:CIM) | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI) | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) | 15 | 6 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by the aforementioned strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE:RPAI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
