CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (CBL) Sinks After WSJ Report that the SEC and FBI are Investigating the Company

Seeing as CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) has witnessed declining sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedge funds that slashed their full holdings by the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, Eric Halet and Davide Serra’s Algebris Investments said goodbye to the largest stake of the 760 funds followed by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $1.8 million in stock. David Costen Haley’s fund, HBK Investments, also sold off its stock, about $1.2 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds by the end of the first quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL). We will take a look at United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI), Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN), Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA), and South Jersey Industries Inc (NYSE:SJI). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to CBL’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 18 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $137 million. That figure was $91 million in CBL’s case. Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand South Jersey Industries Inc (NYSE:SJI) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard SPN might be a better candidate to consider a long position.

Disclosure: None