Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Capital Bank Financial Corp (CBF)

Due to the fact that Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedgies that slashed their entire stakes heading into Q4. At the top of the heap, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital cut the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $6.3 million in stock, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $1.5 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 3 funds heading into Q4.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF). We will take a look at Headwaters Inc (NYSE:HW), ClubCorp Holdings Inc (NYSE:MYCC), Park National Corporation (NYSEAMEX:PRK), and Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDR). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble CBF’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 23 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $162 million, compared to just $23 million in CBF’s case. Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Park National Corporation (NYSEAMEX:PRK) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) is even less popular than PRK. 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.