Hedge Funds Are Betting On The Bancorp, Inc. (TBBK)

Is The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK) a buy here? The best stock pickers are getting more optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets inched up by 5 recently.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to watch stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a peek at the key action regarding The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK).

What have hedge funds been doing with The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 71% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Second Curve Capital, managed by Tom Brown, holds the biggest position in The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK). Second Curve Capital has a $38.7 million position in the stock, comprising 9.9% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Donald Yacktman of Yacktman Asset Management, with a $33.3 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Michael Price’s MFP Investors and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Visium Asset Management, managed by Jacob Gottlieb, assembled the largest position in The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK). Visium Asset Management had 1.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TBBK positions are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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