At the moment, there are a multitude of methods shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as useful, positive insider trading activity is a second way to look at the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of 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 valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
Furthermore, we’re going to discuss the latest info about MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI).
Hedge fund activity in MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI)
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 22% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management had the biggest position in MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI), worth close to $6.4 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On Millennium Management’s heels is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $4.9 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the titans, particular hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, created the most valuable position in MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI). Millennium Management had 6.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also made a $4.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MBFI positions are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI). These stocks are First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI), Park National Corporation (NYSEAMEX:PRK), PrivateBancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PVTB), Old National Bancorp (NYSE:ONB), and Wintrust Financial Corp (NASDAQ:WTFC). All of these stocks are in the regional – midwest banks industry and their market caps are closest to MBFI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Park National Corporation (NYSEAMEX:PRK) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| PrivateBancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PVTB) | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Old National Bancorp (NYSE:ONB) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Wintrust Financial Corp (NASDAQ:WTFC) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by our research, regular investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI) is an important part of this process.
