Conventional financial stocks, such as banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, and capital market firms, offer distinct advantages to investors. Some of these include stable or growing dividends, an inflation hedge, and potential outperformance during economic expansions. Currently, the financial pure plays are attracting increased investor interest, supported by a constructive sector outlook.
On December 31, RBC Capital Markets shared its views on the U.S. Banking sector, highlighting key growth drivers for the sector’s anticipated outperformance in 2026. According to their research, a high level of M&A activity will be one of the most critical enablers for the sector. Other trends likely to support this momentum include robust financing in commercial real estate and home equity, as well as strong industrial lending.
On the same day, Fitch Ratings also published a report with a stable outlook for the Property & Casualty Insurance segment. According to the report, underwriting profitability will remain strong throughout 2026, although combined ratios are expected to rise from 94% in 2025 to around 96%-97%. Certain headwinds, such as weak economic growth, intense market competition, and inflationary pressures, may affect the segment’s adjusted returns. However, rising renewal premium rates and adequate pricing will keep things in balance, and the overall book yields are also expected to remain healthy.
With such favorable expectations, many investors, including hedge funds, have been reported to be accumulating shares of financial pure play stocks across a range of sub-verticals. This provides an institutional perspective on these business models and how these investors are positioning themselves relative to financial companies.
With that background, let’s explore our 16 Most Favored Financial Pure Plays Under $100 According to Hedge Funds.
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Our Methodology
To identify financial pure play stocks under $100 for this article, we began by screening U.S.-listed financial companies with market capitalizations above $2 billion. We then narrowed our selection to include companies with share prices between $5 and $100 and with at least 10% upside potential according to TipRanks consensus.
In the final part of the screening, we assessed the number of hedge funds holding positions in these stocks as of the end of the third quarter of 2025 and selected the 16 stocks with the highest counts. We then ranked them in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
16. Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI)
Sector/Industry: Financial (Banks)
Share Price: $44.44
Potential Upside: 27.1%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) is one of the best financial pure plays under $100 according to hedge funds.
On December 18, Piper Sandler analyst Matthew Clark upgraded his rating on Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) to Buy from Neutral. He raised his price target on the stock from $50 to $58, offering investors an attractive 30.5% upside.
Clark attributed his overweight stance on Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) to several fundamental and market factors. He noted the stock’s underperformance in recent times, which places it at a significant discount compared to its own historical valuation multiples. Clark also highlighted a very stable credit profile and asset repricing, which make the bank’s fundamentals robust. Moreover, the analyst believes that such asset repricing will help deliver strong net interest margins going forward. This makes the analyst forecast a double-digit growth in earnings for the bank.
As of the December 30 closing, consensus ratings remain favorable toward Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI). All four analysts covering the company had assigned Buy ratings, leading to a consensus 1-year average price target of $56.50. This results in an upside potential of over 27% from the current level.
Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) is a multi-bank holding company that operates around 18 distinct banking brands. In line with the community-focused banking concept, they deliver commercial banking services with assets totaling $29 billion. Their offerings include transaction & savings deposits, consumer loans, and mortgage origination services.
15. HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI)
Sector/Industry: Financial (Asset Management)
Share Price: $31.97
Potential Upside: 26.0%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI) is one of the best financial pure plays under $100 according to hedge funds.
On December 16, HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI) announced a $500 million additional capital commitment towards CarbonCount Holdings 1 (CCH1), a co-investment vehicle that was set up in partnership with KKR & Co. As part of this announcement, KKR & Co will also add $500 million to the investment capacity of this vehicle, which injects capital into sustainable infrastructure projects within the U.S.
HASI Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Marc Pangburn said:
“CCH1 enables us to efficiently deploy capital into sustainable infrastructure projects that support the energy transition and address the country’s rising power demand. Alongside KKR, we are pleased to further scale CCH1 to deliver long-term value for our clients and stakeholders.”
The stock has a consensus 1-year average price target of $40.27, implying a 26% upside from the current level. As of December 30 closing, the forecasts remain strong for HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI). The stock has been covered by 13 analysts, with 11 assigning Buy ratings and 2 giving Hold calls.
On December 23, Mizuho Securities reaffirmed its bullish stance on HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI). The firm assigned a Buy rating to the stock with a target price of $34, implying single-digit upside of nearly 6.5%.
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI) invests in sustainable infrastructure assets and has approximately $15 billion in assets under management (AUM). Focused on energy transition, they have invested across diverse classes such as onshore wind, distributed solar, utility-scale solar and RNG.
