Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?: Republic Bancorp, Inc. KY (RBCAA), Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (CTBI)

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. PNFP has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with PNFP holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to analyze stocks. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of reasons for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a gander at the key action regarding Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP).

Hedge fund activity in Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP)

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 80% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP). Renaissance Technologies has a $6 million position in the stock, comprising 0% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which held a $5 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the largest position in Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP). Citadel Investment Group had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new PNFP investors: Mike Vranos’s Ellington and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

What have insiders been doing with Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP). These stocks are Republic Bancorp, Inc. KY (NASDAQ:RBCAA), Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI), Cardinal Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CFNL), Renasant Corp. (NASDAQ:RNST), and Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). This group of stocks belong to the regional – southeast banks industry and their market caps are closest to PNFP’s market cap.

With the returns shown by our research, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) is an important part of this process.

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