ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. VPFG has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with VPFG holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
At the moment, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to watch stocks. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the market by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a peek at the key action surrounding ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG).
Hedge fund activity in ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG). Renaissance Technologies has a $14.2 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $5.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
Judging by the fact that ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money, we can see that there is a sect of funds who were dropping their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp sold off the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, valued at about $0.7 million in stock. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds last quarter.
What have insiders been doing with ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG) has seen 5 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 ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG). These stocks are Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE:MAIN), Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC), Tile Shop Hldgs, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTS), Sabine Royalty Trust (NYSE:SBR), and Dorchester Minerals LP (NASDAQ:DMLP). This group of stocks belong to the diversified investments industry and their market caps match VPFG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE:MAIN) | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Tile Shop Hldgs, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTS) | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Sabine Royalty Trust (NYSE:SBR) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorchester Minerals LP (NASDAQ:DMLP) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by our studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and ViewPoint Financial Group (NASDAQ:VPFG) is an important part of this process.
