Heartland Financial USA Inc (HTLF): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Judging by the fact that Heartland Financial USA Inc (NASDAQ:HTLF) has sustained bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedge funds who were dropping their full holdings last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that David E. Shaw’s D E Shaw sold off the largest position of the 700 funds studied by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $0.6 million in stock. Dmitry Balyasny’s fund, Balyasny Asset Management, also dropped its stock, about $0.5 million worth of HTLF shares.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Heartland Financial USA Inc (NASDAQ:HTLF) but similarly valued. These stocks are Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:UVE), Archrock Partners LP (NASDAQ:APLP), New Mountain Finance Corp. (NYSE:NMFC), and Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble HTLF’s market cap.

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 $25 million. That figure was $14 million in HTLF’s case. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:UVE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Archrock Partners LP (NASDAQ:APLP) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Heartland Financial USA Inc (NASDAQ:HTLF) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard UVE might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: none.