Is Sterling Bancorp (STL) A Good Stock To Buy?

As aggregate interest increased, some big names have jumped into Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL) headfirst. AlphaOne Capital Partners, managed by Paul Hondros, initiated the most outsized position in Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL). AlphaOne Capital Partners had $3.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joshua Nash’s Ulysses Management also made a $3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new STL positions are Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital and Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL). These stocks are Diebold Incorporated (NYSE:DBD), Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TR), Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL), and RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to STL’s market cap.

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 $156 million. That figure was $245 million in STL’s case. Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TR) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL) 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.