Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Contrarian Fund” second quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund returned 4.17% net compared to a 5.23% return for the Russell 2500 Index. Furthermore, the fund underperformed its secondary benchmark, the Russell 2500 Value Index, which returned 4.37% during the same period. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Meridian Contrarian Fund highlighted stocks like First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) in the second quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Billings, Montana, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) is a bank holding company for First Interstate Bank. On October 4, 2023, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) stock closed at $24.05 per share. One-month return of First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) was -2.83%, and its shares lost 42.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) has a market capitalization of $2.526 billion.
Meridian Contrarian Fund made the following comment about First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:
“First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) is a regional bank with a leading presence in the Mountain West region of the U.S. and approximately $32 billion in assets. The stock lagged the market in late 2021 and early 2022 as a delayed regulatory review of a merger slowed the company’s ability to grow and return capital while it was simultaneously investing in technology to improve operational efficiencies. First Interstate, however, has a history of consistently profitable growth supported by a high-quality deposit base, which has generally led to better-than-peers growth in commercial, real estate, and agricultural lending. Therefore, we invested as we believed conditions created a historical discount to the firm’s normalized earnings. During the quarter, the stock underperformed amid the fallout from the springtime collapse of three regional banks. It was also pressured by the market’s distaste for banks with elevated exposure to commercial real estate (CRE), although First Interstate’s CRE holdings were largely tied to smaller towns in the Midwest through Pacific Northwest, and competitive pressures from larger banks. While the latter contributed to our decision to reduce our position—First Interstate reported deposit losses as savers sought higher interest rates elsewhere—we maintained a stake due to our belief in the bank’s fundamental strength and management’s history of managing through exogenous shocks that ultimately strengthen the business.”
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First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 10 hedge fund portfolios held First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) at the end of second quarter which was 9 in the previous quarter.
We discussed First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) in another article and shared Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
