Hedge Funds Are Betting On These REITs

#3 Vereit Inc (NYSE:VER)

 – Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 44
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $1.48 billion
– Hedge Fund Holdings as Percent of Float (as of September 30): 21.10%

With Vereit Inc (NYSE:VER) continuing to trade at a discount to its triple-net peers and shares paying out a dividend with an annual yield of 6.8%, it’s not surprising that many elite funds are long the stock. Given that the company is selling real estate to increase its internal growth and strengthen its tenant diversity and balance sheet, elite fund holders such as Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital hope the market begins to take notice of the stock’s improving fundamentals and award the stock a higher valuation. Analysts have an $11 consensus price target, suggesting that shares have 35.97% upside.

#2 Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE:CCI)

 – Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 46
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $1.87 billion
– Hedge Fund Holdings as Percent of Float (as of September 30): 7.10%

Like American Tower Corp, Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE:CCI) is a wireless communication infrastructure REIT. Whereas American Tower has considerable international operations, Crown Castle is solely focused on the U.S, after the company sold its Australian unit to outside investors for $1.6 billion this year. Crown Castle’s U.S focus makes it more stable than AMT, and makes the company’s 4.17% dividend yield secure (the rising dollar doesn’t hurt Crown Castle as it does American Tower, for example). Shares of Crown Castle are up by 11% year-to-date.

#1 Northstar Realty Finance Corp (NYSE:NRF)

 – Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 59
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $1.53 billion
– Hedge Fund Holdings as Percent of Float (as of September 30): 34.00%

Northstar Realty Finance Corp (NYSE:NRF) is a deep value play. With a net asset value of $29.07 per share and a stock price of just $16.42, Northstar is one of the cheapest REITs on any exchange. With an eye-popping dividend yield of 18.27%, Northstar is also one of the highest-yielding REITs. In late September, the company announced a $500 million stock repurchase program that should help improve the company’s price-to-NAV ratio. Among the 59 elite funds long the stock at the end of the third quarter was Lee Ainslie‘s Maverick Capital with a holding of 10.94 million shares.

Disclosure: None