The Bank of Butterfield is on a list of the 12 most undervalued bank stocks to buy, as designated by a financial market publication.

The investment research said there are 16 hedge fund holders of Butterfield shares, and the average analyst price target for the bank stock is $35.20.

Butterfield closed Monday at $30.17.

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It puts the bank’s price-to-earnings ratio at 6.55 as of March 4 and says its average upside potential is 17.25 per cent.

Last week, Hamna Asim reported: “According to Insider Monkey’s fourth-quarter database, 16 hedge funds were bullish on The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, compared to 12 funds in the prior quarter.

“Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 1.76 million shares worth $56.6 million.”

Insider Monkey describes Boston-based Adage Capital Management as “a multibillion money management firm with a primary focus on overseeing S&P 500 assets, particularly for endowments and foundations”.

Its notable clients include institutions such as Harvard University, Northwestern University, Dartmouth College, the American Red Cross and the Getty Foundation.

Meanwhile, Simply Wall St recently reported on the 44 cents per share dividend paid out by the bank Monday, following on from the previous 12 months, when the bank distributed a total of $1.76 per share to shareholders.

Simply Wall St said: “Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son has a trailing yield of approximately 5.8 per cent on its current stock price of $30.37.

But it recently said of the bank’s financial health: “Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son has total assets of $13.4 billion and total equity of $1.0 billion. Total deposits are $12.0 billion and total loans are $4.7 billion, earning a net interest margin of 2.8 per cent.

“It has insufficient allowance for bad loans, which are currently at 2.8 per cent of total loans. Cash and short-term investments are $2.5 billion.”

Over the past 15 years, Adage, along with its predecessor, the Select Equity Group at the Harvard Management Company, has consistently outperformed the S&P index by an average of 3.5 per cent.

By 2015, Adage had earned its place among the world's Top 10 largest hedge funds, with its assets under management doubling in the preceding four years. The firm boasted an annualised return of 9.7 per cent since its inception, surpassing the S&P 500 benchmark.

In the Institutional Investor 2016 Hedge Fund Report Card, Adage secured the third position among major hedge funds.