Hedge Funds Are Buying Bank Mutual Corporation (BKMU)

Consequently, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Among them, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the most outsized position in Bank Mutual Corporation (NASDAQ:BKMU). Citadel Investment Group had $0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Bank Mutual Corporation (NASDAQ:BKMU) but similarly valued. We will take a look at One Liberty Properties, Inc. (NYSE:OLP), Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ:FRPT), Guaranty Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBNK), and Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI). This group of stocks’ market values resemble BKMU’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $28 million, higher than the $12 million in BKMU’s case. Guaranty Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBNK) is the most popular stock in this table, while One Liberty Properties, Inc. (NYSE:OLP) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Bank Mutual Corporation (NASDAQ:BKMU) is even less popular than OLP. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.