Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. OKSB investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with OKSB positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, outdated investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are over 8000 funds trading at present, we look at the upper echelon of this group, around 450 funds. It is estimated that this group controls the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by paying attention to their highest performing stock picks, we have deciphered a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started 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 (check out a sample of our picks).
Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. There are plenty of incentives for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if you know where to look (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB).
Hedge fund activity in Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB)
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -14% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, Bernard Horn’s Polaris Capital Management had the largest position in Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB), worth close to $25.8 million, accounting for 1.5% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Basswood Capital, managed by Matthew Lindenbaum, which held a $7.3 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Because Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. Interestingly, James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management dumped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we track, worth an estimated $3 million in stock. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter.
How are insiders trading Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB) has experienced 4 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKSB) applies perfectly to this mantra.
