International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC) shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.
To most traders, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, outdated investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation at present, we at Insider Monkey look at the masters of this group, close to 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by monitoring their top picks, we have deciphered a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see all of our picks from August).
Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action surrounding International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC).
How are hedge funds trading International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 33% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, holds the largest position in International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC). Polaris Capital Management has a $38.8 million position in the stock, comprising 2.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which held a $12.5 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers with similar optimism include David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital.
Consequently, some big names have jumped into International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC) headfirst. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, created the most valuable position in International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC). Millennium Management had 0.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also made a $0.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC). These stocks are BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB), UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF), Texas Capital Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:TCBI), and First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ:FFIN). This group of stocks belong to the regional – southwest banks industry and their market caps match IBOC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Texas Capital Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:TCBI) | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ:FFIN) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC) is an important part of this process.
