Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH)

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. BOH investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with BOH positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the market by a significant margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of reasons for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action encompassing Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH).

Hedge fund activity in Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH)

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -25% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH). Royce & Associates has a $37.2 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, which held a $32.2 million position; the fund has 0.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.

Because Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) has witnessed a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedgies that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. Interestingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management dropped the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, comprising close to $3.5 million in stock., and D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $1.7 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.

Insider trading activity in Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH)

Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH). These stocks are East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC), Umpqua Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UMPQ), Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY), SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIVB), and City National Corp (NYSE:CYN). All of these stocks are in the regional – pacific banks industry and their market caps are closest to BOH’s market cap.

With the results shown by our research, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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