Is State Bank Financial Corp (STBZ) A Good Stock To Buy?

Because State Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:STBZ) has faced a bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedgies that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, William Black’s Consector Capital cut the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds watched by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $2 million in stock. Shawn Bergerson and Martin Kalish’s fund, Waterstone Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1.9 million worth of shares. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 5 funds last quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to State Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:STBZ). These stocks are Navigator Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NVGS), Capital Southwest Corporation (NASDAQ:CSWC), Capital Product Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:CPLP), and Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY). This group of stocks’ market values resemble State Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:STBZ)’s market value.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $151 million. That figure was $94 million in State Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:STBZ)’s case. Navigator Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NVGS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Capital Product Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:CPLP) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. State Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:STBZ) 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, Navigator Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NVGS) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.