Do Hedge Funds Love FBL Financial Group (FFG)?

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Because FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) has faced a declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few money managers that slashed their entire stakes in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the largest stake of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling about $1 million in stock. Peter Muller’s fund, PDT Partners, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.7 million worth of shares. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), and WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD). This group of stocks’ market valuations match FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG)’s market valuation.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
CBU 6 9692 0
EXPR 34 269084 4
PCRX 29 404784 4
WBMD 26 523091 6

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 24 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $302 million. That figure was $12 million in FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG)’s case. Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.

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