Armada Hoffler Properties Inc (AHH); Green Plains Inc (GPRE): AEW Capital Management Sheds Entire Stake; Merchants’ Gate Capital Exits Major Position

Merchants’ Gate Capital also decided to abandon one of its holdings at the end of the year, as revealed by the 13G Form filed with the SEC last week. The recently disclosed transaction comes as quite a surprise, since Green Plains Inc (NASDAQ:GPRE) was amongst the investment firm’s top three most valuable positions at the end of the third quarter. Only four years after being launched, the New York-based hedge fund that was founded in 2007 by Jason Capello managed to rank amongst the 100 largest U.S. equity focused hedge funds, and its equity portfolio is currently valued at around $1.2 billion.

According to the hedge fund’s last 13F filing, Green Plains was its third largest holding, accounting for 5.7% of its equity portfolio. Since Merchants’ Gate Capital initially disclosed it had entered a new position in the company at the beginning of 2014, share prices grew considerably. While the company’s share price experienced an increase of 28% throughout the past year, the stock actually gained more than 130% in the first 9 months of 2014. Hence, it seems the hedge fund did not view its stake in Green Plains as a long-term investment, as it began trimming its position as share prices grew.

Mr. Capello’s firm was not the only institutional investor keen on cashing in on short term profits derived from the rapid growth of Green Plains Inc (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s stock price. While Louis Navellier’s Navellier & Associates held a position of 946,600 shares at the end of the third quarter, they reduced their stake in the company by 98% last quarter. Nevertheless, the $1.01 billion market cap ethanol producer does have the backing of major investors, which seem to be in for the long-run.

Disclosure: none.