After several tireless days we have finished crunching the numbers from the more than 700 13F filings issued by the elite hedge funds and other investment firms that we track at Insider Monkey, which disclosed those firms’ equity portfolios as of September 30. The results of that effort will be put on display in this article, as we share valuable insight into the smart money sentiment towards Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR).
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund interest lately. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR) positions at the end of the previous quarter. The shares of the investment trust took a similar route, falling 6.4% during the quarter. For a better understanding of the hedge fund sentiment, we will cover hedge funds that held stakes in Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR), at the end of September.
The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE), Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX), and Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CATB) to gather more data points.
According to most stock holders, hedge funds are seen as slow, outdated investment vehicles of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, our experts hone in on the elite of this club, around 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people manage the lion’s share of the smart money’s total asset base, and by monitoring their highest performing equity investments, Insider Monkey has deciphered many investment strategies that have historically defeated the market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.
Now, let’s view the key action regarding Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR).
How are hedge funds trading Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR)?
At the end of the last quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a drop of 22% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Bulldog Investors, managed by Phillip Goldstein, Andrew Dakos and Steven Samuels, holds the biggest position in Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR). Bulldog Investors has a $8.2 million position in the stock, comprising 3.8% of its 13F portfolio. On Bulldog Investors’s heels is EJF Capital, managed by Emanuel J. Friedman, which holds a $6.6 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Michael Price’s MFP Investors, Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners, and Michael Thompson’s BHR Capital.
Seeing as Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR) has experienced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of fund managers who were dropping their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Bulldog Investors dumped the biggest stake of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling about $4 million in stock. Steve Pei’s fund, Gratia Capital, also dropped its stock, about $1.1 million worth of shares. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE), Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX), Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CATB), and Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR)’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZYNE | 4 | 23146 | 4 |
| NWPX | 8 | 19011 | 0 |
| CATB | 5 | 14272 | -1 |
| SHBI | 6 | 10506 | 0 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 6 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $17 million. That figure was $30 million in Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR)’s case. Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc (NASDAQ:WHLR) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ:NWPX) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
