First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (FR): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

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As one would reasonably expect, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Two Sigma Advisors, led by John Overdeck and David Siegel, initiated the largest position in First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR). Two Sigma Advisors had $5.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital also initiated a $2.1 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR). These stocks are Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), Tenneco Inc (NYSE:TEN), RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NASDAQ:RRD), and Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ:FNSR). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to FR’s market valuation.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
FIT 35 442510 6
TEN 24 201461 -3
RRD 24 131702 -1
FNSR 22 417786 1

As you can see these stocks had an average of 26.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $298 million. That figure was $154 million in FR’s case. Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ:FNSR) is the least popular one with only 22 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) is even less popular than FNSR. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.

Disclosure: None


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