Weingarten Realty Investors (WRI): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. WRI has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with WRI positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of methods investors can use to track the equity markets. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of incentives for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a glance at the latest action regarding Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI).

How are hedge funds trading Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -8% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the most valuable position in Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI). Citadel Investment Group has a $11.5 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, with a $4.1 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Because Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers that slashed their full holdings heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management dropped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, totaling close to $2.7 million in stock., and D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $1.2 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds heading into Q2.

What have insiders been doing with Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI). These stocks are Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE:TCO), Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG), Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE:SKT), Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE:HPT), and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL). This group of stocks are in the reit – retail industry and their market caps resemble WRI’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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