Is Dean Foods Co (DF) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Because Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF) has faced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few hedgies who sold off their positions entirely in the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Ron Gutfleish’s Elm Ridge Capital dropped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling about $22.4 million in stock, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $16.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF). These stocks are Eros International plc (NYSE:EROS), Press Ganey Holdings Inc (NYSE:PGND), Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI), and Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to DF’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 16 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $119 million. That figure was $164 million in DF’s case. Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) is the most popular stock in this table with 21 funds reporting positions. On the other hand Press Ganey Holdings Inc (NYSE:PGND) is the least popular one. Compared to these stocks, Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.