Is Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) a good investment?
In the financial world, there are many gauges market participants can use to watch their holdings. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can beat the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as crucial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the financial markets. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to examine the latest info for Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL).
How have hedgies been trading Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 25% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, holds the biggest position in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL). Polaris Capital Management has a $15.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $4.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management.
Consequently, particular hedge funds have jumped into Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) headfirst. Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, established the most valuable position in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL). Polaris Capital Management had 15.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also made a $4.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL). These stocks are Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC), Flagstar Bancorp Inc (NYSE:FBC), Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY), Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR), and Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB). This group of stocks belong to the savings & loans industry and their market caps match BRKL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Flagstar Bancorp Inc (NYSE:FBC) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns shown by the previously mentioned studies, regular investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) is no exception.
