Should You Buy Capital Bank Financial Corp (CBF)?

Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) has seen an increase in hedge fund interest of late.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many incentives for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a peek at the key action encompassing Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF).

What have hedge funds been doing with Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 57% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, holds the most valuable position in Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). Carlson Capital has a $18.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Michael Lowenstein of Kensico Capital, with a $18.7 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital and Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Greenlight Capital, managed by David Einhorn, established the largest position in Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). Greenlight Capital had 16.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management also made a $10.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CBF investors: Brian Stark’s Stark Investments, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, and Jonathan Auerbach’s Hound Partners.

How have insiders been trading Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) has seen 4 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). These stocks are Renasant Corp. (NASDAQ:RNST), Bank Of The Ozarks Inc (NASDAQ:OZRK), BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE:BXS), IBERIABANK Corporation (NASDAQ:IBKC), and Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP). This group of stocks are the members of the regional – southeast banks industry and their market caps resemble CBF’s market cap.