Is Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC) a splendid investment right now? Money managers are getting less optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets shrunk by 2 lately.
Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC).
How are hedge funds trading Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -17% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management had the most valuable position in Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC), worth close to $58.5 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On AQR Capital Management’s heels is Robert Emil Zoellner of Alpine Associates, with a $47.2 million position; 1.8% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
Judging by the fact that Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, logic holds that there were a few fund managers who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw said goodbye to the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling an estimated $1.1 million in stock.. Matthew Hulsizer’s fund, PEAK6 Capital Management, also dumped its call options., about $0.3 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds last quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC)?
Insider buying is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CRBC) is an important part of this process.
