Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (RHP): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP) was in 25 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. RHP has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 27 hedge funds in our database with RHP positions at the end of the previous quarter.

According to most market participants, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, outdated financial vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, we choose to focus on the moguls of this club, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top investments, we have determined a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually 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 topped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see the details here).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are many reasons for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a look at the recent action encompassing Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP).

How are hedge funds trading Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 25 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, holds the biggest position in Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP). GAMCO Investors has a $221.1 million position in the stock, comprising 1.4% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Barry Rosenstein of JANA Partners, with a $126.2 million position; 2.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that are bullish include John Paulson’s Paulson & Co, Patrick McCormack’s Tiger Consumer Management and Shane Finemore’s Manikay Partners.

Due to the fact that Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there is a sect of hedge funds that slashed their positions entirely at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Richard McGuire’s Marcato Capital Management cut the biggest position of the 450+ funds we key on, valued at close to $73.4 million in stock., and Rob Butts and Josh Clark of Southpoint Capital Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $25.7 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

What have insiders been doing with Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP). These stocks are China Lodging Group, Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:HTHT), Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE:OEH), Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HMIN), Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP), and Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH). This group of stocks are in the lodging industry and their market caps resemble RHP’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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