Do Hedge Funds Love DineEquity Inc (DIN)?

Judging by the fact that DineEquity Inc (NYSE:DIN) has experienced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of funds that elected to cut their full holdings in the third quarter. Interestingly, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates got rid of the biggest stake of all the investors watched by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $4 million in stock, and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $2.3 million worth of shares.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to DineEquity Inc (NYSE:DIN). These stocks are Eaton Vance Ltd Duration Income Fund (NYSEMKT:EVV), Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC), Astoria Financial Corp (NYSE:AF), and AZZ Incorporated (NYSE:AZZ). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to DIN’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $51 million, which is lower than the $107 million figure in DIN’s case. Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Eaton Vance Ltd Duration Income Fund (NYSEMKT:EVV) is the least popular one with only three investors holding long positions. DineEquity Inc (NYSE:DIN) 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 Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC) might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: None