Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (BPFH) Anymore

Out of thousands of stocks that are currently traded on the market, it is difficult to determine those that can really generate strong returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors spend millions of dollars on analysts with MBAs and PhDs, who are industry experts and well connected to other industry and media insiders on top of that. Individual investors can piggyback the hedge funds employing these talents and can benefit from their vast resources and knowledge in that way. We analyze quarterly 13F filings of over 700 hedge funds and, by looking at the smart money sentiment that surrounds a stock, we can determine whether it has potential to beat the market over the long-term. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at what smart money thinks about Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH).

Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) was in 17 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) to other stocks including Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA), 1st Source Corporation (NASDAQ:SRCE), and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE:NP) to get a better sense of its popularity.

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Keeping this in mind, we’re going to review the latest action encompassing Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH).

What have hedge funds been doing with Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a drop of 15% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund and institutional investor database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH). Royce & Associates has n $20.7 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, which holds a $13.3 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. The remaining peers that hold long positions comprise Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Lee Munder’s Lee Munder Capital Group, and Renaissance Technologies.

Due to the fact that Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) has faced a declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of funds who sold off their full holdings in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Philippe Jabre’s Jabre Capital Partners dropped the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds watched by Insider Monkey, comprising about $3.1 million in stock, and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $1.3 million worth of shares. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA), 1st Source Corporation (NASDAQ:SRCE), Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE:NP), and Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN). This group of stocks’ market caps is similar to Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH)’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
RUSHA 11 25926 -5
SRCE 5 6098 1
NP 10 108402 0
KAMN 15 187735 -1

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 $82 million. That figure was $76 million in Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH)’s case. Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, 1st Source Corporation (NASDAQ:SRCE) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks, Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.