Hedge Funds Are Betting On First Financial Corp (THFF)

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Now, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Bryn Mawr Capital, managed by Ken Gray and Steve Walsh, established the biggest position in First Financial Corp (NASDAQ:THFF). According to its latest 13F filing, the fund had $2.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to First Financial Corp (NASDAQ:THFF). We will take a look at FairPoint Communications Inc (NASDAQ:FRP), Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP), El Pollo LoCo Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LOCO), and Metro Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:METR). This group of stocks’ market caps match THFF’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
FRP 21 186386 3
KOP 19 60200 3
LOCO 9 14469 2
METR 9 38357 2

As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $75 million. That figure was just $12 million in THFF’s case. FairPoint Communications Inc (NASDAQ:FRP) is the most popular stock in this table, while El Pollo LoCo Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LOCO) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks First Financial Corp (NASDAQ:THFF) is even less popular than LOCO. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.

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