Here is What Hedge Funds Think About First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (FBNK)

First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK) has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently.

According to most investors, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, old investment tools of years past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the crème de la crème of this club, around 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by monitoring their best stock picks, we have discovered a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually 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 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see the details here).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are plenty of motivations for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the recent action encompassing First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK).

What have hedge funds been doing with First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 40% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Gruss Asset Management, managed by Howard Guberman, holds the most valuable position in First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK). Gruss Asset Management has a $4.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Michael M. Rothenberg and David Sackler of Moab Capital Partners, with a $2.4 million position; the fund has 1.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Bernard Horn’s Polaris Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Two Sigma Advisors, managed by John Overdeck and David Siegel, created the most valuable position in First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK). Two Sigma Advisors had 0.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter.

What have insiders been doing with First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and First Connecticut Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FBNK) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds