How Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) Stacks Up Against Its Peers

Judging by the fact that Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few money managers who sold off their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Principal Global Investors’ Columbus Circle Investors said goodbye to the biggest stake of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $86.5 million in stock, and Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $50.8 million worth of shares.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF). These stocks are Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX), and Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to COF’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 22 investors holding long positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $527 million. That figure was $1441 million in COF’s case. Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) 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.