QCR Holdings, Inc. (QCRH): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Because QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) has experienced a bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling about $0.7 million in stock, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.2 million worth of shares. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 fund last quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH). We will take a look at Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCBG), U.S. Lime & Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM), Galena Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:GALE), and Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO). This group of stocks’ market valuations matches QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH)’s market valuation.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $14 million. That figure was $27 million in QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH)’s case. Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, U.S. Lime & Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) 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, Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.