Hedge Funds Are Betting On InfraREIT Inc (HIFR)

A whopping number of 13F filings filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been processed by Insider Monkey so that individual investors can look at the overall hedge fund sentiment towards the stocks included in their watchlists. These freshly-submitted public filings disclose money managers’ equity positions as of the end of the three-month period that ended September 30th, so let’s proceed with the discussion of the hedge fund sentiment on InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR).

InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. HIFR was in 19 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 26 hedge funds in our database with HIFR positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare HIFR to other stocks including Nortek Inc (NASDAQ:NTK), Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC), and Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG) to get a better sense of its popularity.

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According to most market participants, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, old investment tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds trading at present, our researchers hone in on the masters of this club, approximately 700 funds. These investment experts handle bulk of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by observing their inimitable equity investments, Insider Monkey has figured out several investment strategies that have historically exceeded Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the fresh action surrounding InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR).

Hedge fund activity in InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR)

Heading into Q4, a total of 19 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -27% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exist a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group has the most valuable position in InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR), worth close to $58.1 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Zimmer Partners, led by Stuart J. Zimmer, holding a $33.6 million position; 2.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Robert Pitts’s Steadfast Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and John Orrico’s Water Island Capital.

Seeing as InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few fund managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. Intriguingly, Christopher A. Winham’s Tide Point Capital said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $32.2 million in stock, and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson of Adage Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $17 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 7 funds last quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR). These stocks are Nortek Inc (NASDAQ:NTK), Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC), Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG), and NewLink Genetics Corp (NASDAQ:NLNK). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to HIFR’s market valuation.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
NTK 14 414412 3
TNC 14 111251 3
KCG 14 69189 -9
NLNK 13 132952 -2

As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $182 million. That figure was $189 million in HIFR’s case. Nortek Inc (NASDAQ:NTK) is the most popular stock in this table, while NewLink Genetics Corp (NASDAQ:NLNK) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. With 19 bullish hedge fund positions, InfraREIT Inc (NYSE:HIFR) is even more popular than Nortek Inc (NASDAQ:NTK), which indicates that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers. Therefore, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and make it your choice of investment.