Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group Boosted Its Position in $SUSQ

Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group reports its 5.3% passive stake in Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. (SUSQ) on October 14th. According to the 13G filing, Ken Griffin now has 6.83 million shares in SUSQ, up by 63% from its 4.19 million shares’ position in the second quarter. SUSQ is in a downtrend throughout 2011, and has lost 36% year to date. The stock has a mixed performance in the third quarter and was near its 2-year low on September 26th. Ken Griffin might enter at late September and make most of his purchase at about $5.6 per share. Now SUSQ is trading at $6.15.

In the second quarter, seventeen hedge funds owned SUSQ in their portfolios. According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group increased its position by 28% and had 4.19 million shares, accounting for more than 90% of all SUSQ shares held by hedge funds at that time. The firm also had some option positions in the stock. Other famous hedge fund manager also retained positions. Jim Simons had 294 thousand shares. Steven Cohen had 178 thousand shares, and George Soros had 21 thousand shares.

Ken Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel Investment Group. The firm is based in Chicago, and ranks among the largest and most successful hedge funds in the world. He avoided extensive press coverage in manners similar to other hedge funds for several years. Ken Griffin has a personal net worth of $2.3 billion as of 2011, making him the 512th richest man in the world. Citadel Investment Group had a portfolio value of nearly $43 billion in the second quarter.

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. provides retail and commercial banking, and financial services in mid-Atlantic area. The company also provides commercial, property, casualty insurance, risk management programs, investment advisory, asset management, and brokerage services. The company operates 221 branches and 26 free-standing automated teller machines. Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. was founded  in 1982 and is headquartered in Lititz, Pennsylvania.