Do Hedge Funds Love FBL Financial Group (FFG)?

Insider Monkey finished processing more than 700 13F filings made by hedge funds and prominent investors. These filings show these funds’ portfolio positions as of September 30. What do these smart investors think about FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG)?

FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. On the contrary, the stock of FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) gained 6.58% value throughout the quarter, prompting us to find out more about the hedge fund sentiment.

The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article, we will examine companies such as Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), and Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX) to gather more data points.

In today’s marketplace, there are numerous methods investors employ to size up their holdings. A duo of the most underrated methods are hedge fund and insider trading activity. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a healthy margin (see the details here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the new action surrounding FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG).

How have hedgies been trading FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG)?

At the end of Q3, a total of 7 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a decline of 22% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, holds the number one position in FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG). Arrowstreet Capital has a $7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Renaissance Technologies, holding a $2.1 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining members of the smart money that hold long positions consist of Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Roger Ibbotson’s Zebra Capital Management.

Because FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) has faced a declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few money managers that slashed their entire stakes in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the largest stake of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling about $1 million in stock. Peter Muller’s fund, PDT Partners, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.7 million worth of shares. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), and WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD). This group of stocks’ market valuations match FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG)’s market valuation.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 24 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $302 million. That figure was $12 million in FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG)’s case. Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.