Regional banks exist to serve the needs of specific areas and could be defined as larger than local community banks, but smaller than large national banks. Most regional banks are owned by these national institutions and serve a particular geographic region.

While these companies do not provide the type of market cap that the behemoths of the banking industry offer, they do perform all the traditional banking functions of giving out loans and accepting deposits, and many do provide areas of value for interested investors.

Business section: Investing ideas
Below we have compiled a list of seven regional banks from around the United States that have seen net institutional buying (purchases from hedge funds, banks, pensions, etc.) in the current quarter.

This data may interest investors because this data comes from firms that engage the largest scale trading -- often buying and selling millions of dollars worth of shares at a time -- and typically employee the savviest traders in the field.

With this in mind, do you think institutional buyers are making the right call with these regional bank stocks? (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)

1. BankUnited (NYSE: BKU): Operates as the holding company for BankUnited that provides various banking products and services to consumers, and commercial and middle-market businesses. Market cap at $2.13B, most recent closing price at $22.59. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 2.4M shares, which represents about 7.02% of the company's float of 34.17M shares

2. Tompkins Financial (NYSE: TMP): Through its banking subsidiaries, Tompkins Trust Company, The Bank of Castile, and The Mahopac National Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, corporations, and other business clients in New York. Market cap at $450.43M, most recent closing price at $36.70. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 1.3M shares, which represents about 12.46% of the company's float of 10.43M shares.

3. Central Pacific Financial (NYSE: CPF): Operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides commercial banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in Hawaii. Market cap at $518.83M, most recent closing price at $12.40. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 3.9M shares, which represents about 20.07% of the company's float of 19.43M shares.

4. Hanmi Financial (Nasdaq: HAFC): Operates as the holding company for Hanmi Bank that provides general business banking products and services in the United States. Market cap at $305.77M, most recent closing price at $9.61. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 8.0M shares, which represents about 26.19% of the company's float of 30.55M shares.

5. Zions Bancorp: Provides various banking and related products and services in the United States. Market cap at $3.37B, most recent closing price at $18.08. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 27.9M shares, which represents about 15.56% of the company's float of 179.35M shares.

6. BancorpSouth: Operates as the holding company for BancorpSouth Bank that provides commercial banking and financial services to individuals, and small-to-medium sized businesses in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, and Illinois. Market cap at $1.22B, most recent closing price at $12.82. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 9.3M shares, which represents about 11.22% of the company's float of 82.92M shares.

7. Regions Financial (NYSE: RF): Operates as the holding company for the Regions Bank that provides a range of commercial, retail, and mortgage banking services in the United States. Market cap at $8.6B, most recent closing price at $6.02. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 123.2M shares, which represents about 8.8% of the company's float of 1.40B shares.

Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.


 

Kapitall's Dan Horch does not own any of the shares mentioned above.