Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB): Insiders and Hedge Funds Are Buying, Should You?

At the moment, there are many metrics market participants can use to monitor stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

Thus, it’s important to study the newest info surrounding Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB).

How are hedge funds trading Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 28 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 8% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management had the most valuable position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), worth close to $109.9 million, accounting for 2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Samlyn Capital, managed by Robert Pohly, which held a $64.5 million position; the fund has 1.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

As one would understandably expect, certain money managers have been driving this bullishness. Legg Mason Capital Management, managed by Bill Miller, established the largest position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB). Legg Mason Capital Management had 109.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital also made a $64.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

What have insiders been doing with Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 2 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 Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB). These stocks are Associated Banc Corp (NASDAQ:ASBC), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), TFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:TFSL), Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN), and Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA). All of these stocks are in the regional – midwest banks industry and their market caps resemble FITB’s market cap.

Using the results shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, average investors should always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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