Is First Midwest Bancorp Inc (FMBI) a Good Buy?

Does First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI) represent a good buying opportunity at the moment? Let’s briefly check the hedge fund sentiment towards the company. Hedge fund firms constantly search out bright intellectuals and highly-experienced employees and throw away millions of dollars on research activities, so it is no wonder why they tend to generate millions in profits each year. It is also true that some hedge fund players fail unconceivably on some occasions, but their stock picks have been generating superior risk-adjusted returns on average over the years.

First Midwest Bancorp Inc was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. FMBI investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with FMBI positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI), Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN), and FCB Financial Holdings Inc (NYSE:FCB) to gather more data points.

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Now, let’s review the key action regarding First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI).

What have hedge funds been doing with First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 8% from the second quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management has the largest position in First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI), worth close to $28.9 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which holds a $28 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish encompass David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, initiated the biggest position in First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI). Highbridge Capital Management had $0.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI). These stocks are Pennsylvania R.E.I.T. (NYSE:PEI), Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN), FCB Financial Holdings Inc (NYSE:FCB), and Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NYSE:NAT). All of these stocks’ market caps match FMBI’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
PEI 8 22888 -4
HMN 6 51895 -1
FCB 22 201174 7
NAT 18 80357 2

As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $89 million. That figure was $84 million in FMBI’s case. FCB Financial Holdings Inc (NYSE:FCB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard FCB might be a better candidate to consider a long position.