At the moment, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can beat the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as useful, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to look at the financial markets. There are many incentives for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
Thus, it’s important to discuss the latest info surrounding United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI).
Hedge fund activity in United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI)
Heading into Q3, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
Consequently, certain bigger names have jumped into United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI) headfirst. Corsair Capital LLC, managed by D.T. Ignacio Jayanti, established the biggest position in United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI). Corsair Capital LLC had 127.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Tom Brown’s Second Curve Capital also made a $24.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new UCBI positions are Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital, Matthew Lindenbaum’s Basswood Capital, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI)?
Insider buying made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI). These stocks are SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:SCBT), Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN), The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK), WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC), and City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO). This group of stocks belong to the regional – mid-atlantic banks industry and their market caps are closest to UCBI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:SCBT) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results explained by the previously mentioned strategies, regular investors should always track hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and United Community Banks Inc (NASDAQ:UCBI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
