We at Insider Monkey have gone over 700 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the government. The 13F filings show the funds’ and investors’ portfolio positions as of September 30. In this article we look at what those investors think of United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK).
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United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the third quarter of 2015. UBNK investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest in recent months. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with UBNK positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Follow United Financial Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK)
Follow United Financial Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK)
In today’s marketplace there are dozens of gauges market participants use toevaluate stocks. Some of the less known gauges are hedge fund and insider trading signals. Experts at Insider Monkey, a website specializing in hedge funds, have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to view the key action regarding United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK).
Hedge fund activity in United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK)
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish in this stock, a change of 38% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Amy Minella’s Cardinal Capital had the most valuable position in United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK), worth close to $17 million, corresponding to 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $10.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions contain Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Emanuel J. Friedman’s EJF Capital and Anton Schutz’s Mendon Capital Advisors.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, created the most outsized position in United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK). D E Shaw had $0.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Muller’s PDT Partners also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management.
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK). We will take a look at Silver Spring Networks Inc (NYSE:SSNI), Zhaopin Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:ZPIN), CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL), and Interactive Intelligence Group Inc (NASDAQ:ININ). All of these stocks’ market caps match UBNK’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSNI | 16 | 14824 | 2 |
| ZPIN | 6 | 4894 | -5 |
| CRVL | 10 | 52208 | -1 |
| ININ | 9 | 122242 | -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 $49 million. Silver Spring Networks Inc (NYSE:SSNI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Zhaopin Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:ZPIN) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNK) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. Moreover, another sign that UBNK might be worth adding to your portfolio is that the stock witnessed an increase in popularity among hedge funds in the third quarter.
