CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. CBL has seen a decrease in hedge fund interest lately. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with CBL positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation today, we look at the bigwigs of this group, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by monitoring their highest performing stock picks, we have found a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action encompassing CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL).
What have hedge funds been doing with CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL)?
At year’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -10% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the largest position in CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL), worth close to $34.4 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, which held a $33.9 million position; 1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Since CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of funds who were dropping their entire stakes in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC dropped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we track, totaling about $2.5 million in stock., and Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold of LMR Partners was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.8 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in Q4.
What have insiders been doing with CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) has seen 3 unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL). 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 Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI). This group of stocks are the members of the reit – retail industry and their market caps match CBL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE:TCO) | 14 | 2 | 4 |
| Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG) | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE:SKT) | 9 | 1 | 7 |
| Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE:HPT) | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) | 12 | 0 | 1 |
With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) applies perfectly to this mantra.
