Westfield Financial, Inc. (WFD): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD) investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outpace the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. There are lots of reasons for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action surrounding Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD).

What have hedge funds been doing with Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -17% from the first quarter.

Due to the fact that Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD) has experienced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of fund managers who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Eric D. Hovde’s Hovde Capital dropped the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising close to $0.2 million in stock., and D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.2 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds at the end of the first quarter.

How are insiders trading Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFD) is no exception.

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