BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. BOKF has experienced a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with BOKF holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).
Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the latest action surrounding BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF).
Hedge fund activity in BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF)
In preparation for this year, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the biggest position in BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF), worth close to $30.3 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Horizon Asset Management, managed by Murray Stahl, which held a $9.1 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management.
Due to the fact that BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there were a few funds who sold off their entire stakes heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital dumped the largest investment of all the hedgies we watch, totaling about $0.4 million in stock. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
How have insiders been trading BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF). These stocks are Texas Capital Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:TCBI), UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB), Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH), and Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR). This group of stocks belong to the regional – southwest banks industry and their market caps are similar to BOKF’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Texas Capital Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:TCBI) | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) | 7 | 0 | 5 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) applies perfectly to this mantra.
