Is Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI) a worthy stock to buy now? The best stock pickers are betting on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets moved up by 2 in recent months.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of methods investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of reasons for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a look at the recent action encompassing Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI).
Hedge fund activity in Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI)
Heading into Q2, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 22% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the most valuable position in Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI). Fisher Asset Management has a $43.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, which held a $8.7 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.
As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, assembled the most valuable position in Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI). Balyasny Asset Management had 3.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also made a $3.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Anil Stevens and Glenn Shapiro’s Parameter Capital Management, and J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management.
Insider trading activity in Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI)
Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI). These stocks are Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY), CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF), Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL), WestAmerica Bancorp. (NASDAQ:WABC), and Umpqua Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UMPQ). This group of stocks belong to the regional – pacific banks industry and their market caps resemble GBCI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) | 11 | 2 | 8 |
| WestAmerica Bancorp. (NASDAQ:WABC) | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Umpqua Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UMPQ) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
