Is First Midwest Bancorp Inc (FMBI) a Good Buy?

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, initiated the biggest position in First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI). Highbridge Capital Management had $0.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI). These stocks are Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI), Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN), FCB Financial Holdings Inc (NYSE:FCB), and Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NYSE:NAT). All of these stocks’ market caps match FMBI’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $89 million. That figure was $84 million in FMBI’s case. FCB Financial Holdings Inc (NYSE:FCB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard FCB might be a better candidate to consider a long position.