Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Capital Bank Financial Corp (CBF)?

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many indicators shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can beat the broader indices by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as useful, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).

Thus, it’s important to study the latest info surrounding Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF).

What does the smart money think about Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF)?

At Q2’s end, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 9% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital had the biggest position in Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF), worth close to $25.1 million, comprising 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. On Carlson Capital’s heels is Greenlight Capital, managed by David Einhorn, which held a $17.9 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Matthew Lindenbaum’s Basswood Capital, Thomas Lenox Kempner’s Davidson Kempner and Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital.

Consequently, particular hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, established the most valuable position in Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). Carlson Capital had 25.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital also made a $17.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new CBF positions are Matthew Lindenbaum’s Basswood Capital, Thomas Lenox Kempner’s Davidson Kempner, and Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital.

Insider trading activity in Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF)

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). These stocks are Renasant Corp. (NASDAQ:RNST), Bank Of The Ozarks Inc (NASDAQ:OZRK), BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE:BXS), IBERIABANK Corporation (NASDAQ:IBKC), and Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP). All of these stocks are in the regional – southeast banks industry and their market caps resemble CBF’s market cap.