The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We have processed the filings of the more than 700 world-class investment firms that we track and now have access to the collective wisdom contained in these filings, which are based on their September 30 holdings, data that is available nowhere else. Should you consider Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE) for your portfolio? We’ll look to this invaluable collective wisdom for the answer.
Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE) has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently. BDGE was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2018. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with BDGE positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that BDGE isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
At the moment there are dozens of metrics market participants have at their disposal to assess stocks. A couple of the most innovative metrics are hedge fund and insider trading moves. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see the details here).
We’re going to take a peek at the new hedge fund action surrounding Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE).
Hedge fund activity in Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE)
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 10% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 12 hedge funds with a bullish position in BDGE at the beginning of this year. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically, Basswood Capital was the largest shareholder of Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE), with a stake worth $78.4 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Basswood Capital was Ulysses Management, which amassed a stake valued at $12.6 million. Renaissance Technologies, EJF Capital, and Millennium Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds have jumped into Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE) headfirst. Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, initiated the biggest position in Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE). Fisher Asset Management had $0.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Dorchester Minerals LP (NASDAQ:DMLP), CymaBay Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CBAY), Materialise NV (NASDAQ:MTLS), and McEwen Mining Inc (NYSE:MUX). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to BDGE’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMLP | 6 | 25387 | -2 |
| CBAY | 23 | 225670 | 3 |
| MTLS | 4 | 12495 | 1 |
| MUX | 5 | 7411 | -1 |
| Average | 9.5 | 67741 | 0.25 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 9.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $68 million. That figure was $118 million in BDGE’s case. CymaBay Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CBAY) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Materialise NV (NASDAQ:MTLS) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Bridge Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDGE) 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 CBAY might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
