In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the top tier of this group, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by watching their top stock picks, we have revealed a few investment strategies that have historically beaten the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (explore the details and some picks here).
Just as key, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a variety of stimuli for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action surrounding Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT).
What have hedge funds been doing with Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -25% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the largest position in Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT). Citadel Investment Group has a $9.9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $9.7 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Joseph A. Jolson’s Harvest Capital Strategies and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Since Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of funds that decided to sell off their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management sold off the largest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, worth close to $0.9 million in stock., and Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold of LMR Partners was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.
How have insiders been trading Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT)?
Insider buying is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT). These stocks are Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH), NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB), Northfield Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:NFBK), Independent Bank Corp (NASDAQ:INDB), and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF). All of these stocks are in the regional – northeast banks industry and their market caps are closest to ORIT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) | 14 | 1 | 7 |
| NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Northfield Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:NFBK) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Independent Bank Corp (NASDAQ:INDB) | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) | 3 | 3 | 0 |
With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT) applies perfectly to this mantra.
