Gamco, Soros and Fairfax Recent Portfolio Changes

Updated on

Gamco, Soros and Fairfax Recent Portfolio Changes

Mario Gabelli
GAMCO Investors Inc. (NYSE:GBL)

Mario Gabelli founded the Gabelli Asset Management Company Investors and remains as chairman and CEO. The investment firm has it’s headquarters in Rye, New York, but it operates world wide. Gabelli also manages the portfolio and serves as chief investment officer and chairman of The Gabelli Healthcare & Wellness Rx Trust.

GAMCO Investors Inc. (NYSE:GBL) was established in 1977. Mario Gabelli maintains a 50 percent stake in the company and Bill Gates, by way of Cascade, LLC owns 1.3 percent. The company’s top holdings are Direc TV, American Express, Genuine Parts, National Fuel Gas and Thomas & Betts Corporation.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. (NYSE:WHG)

Westwood Holdings, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, was founded in 1983. In a recent announcement the company stated the Board of Directors authorized repurchasing up to $10 million of the company’s outstanding common stock. As of August 2011, outstanding common shares equaled approximately 7.8 million shares.

In September of 2010, Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. acquired the McCarthy Group Advisors. McCarthy is a registered investment advisor which manages over $1.1 billion in institutional and private wealth client assets.

Below are large holdings:

DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV)

DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) provides satellite television to private homes and commercial facilities in the United States and Latin America. The company has recently decided to increase shareholder value and has implemented aggressive buyback programs. The management team feels confident that the company’s earnings per share will climb to $5.0 in 2013, more than double the earnings for 2010 and total revenues will reach $30 billion from $24.1 billion two years ago.

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is an international banking institution that provides credit cards, travel related services, and other financial related services. Despite the economic crisis that has severely affected all markets, American Express has recovered quite well. The company reported third quarter revenues were up 9% over the previous year to $7.57 billion, and profits up 14%, to $1.23 billion, or $1.03 per share.

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) distributes after market automotive replacement parts in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is a solid company that has been generating a steady flow of cash for decades enabling strong dividend growth. The company has greatly benefited by a return policy from suppliers, which reduces the risk of becoming obsolete.

Genuine Parts has an impressive balance sheet. As of March 2011, the company showed a low debt to capital ratio of 14.8% and cash and liquid assets increased to $465.9 million.

National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE:NFG)

National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE:NFG) is a diversified energy company in the business of holding and owning securities issued by its subsidiary companies. It’s business segments consist of utility, exploration and production, pipeline and storage, international operations, energy marketing and timber. Increases in dividend payments over the years has made the company very appealing to investors. The company’s potential to further develop it’s pipeline has drawn increased interest.

Thomas & Betts Corporation (NYSE:TNB)

Thomas & Betts Corporation (NYSE:TNB) manufactures, designs and sells connectors and components for electrical and electronics markets all over the world. It has operations in many countries. The company is famous for its steady expansion and conservative management. Since 2005, approximately 40 percent of the company’s cash flow has gone towards acquisitions, 40 percent towards repurchasing stock and debt reduction and nearly 20 percent has been spent on capital expenditures.

TNB usually generates approximately $250 to $280 million in cash flow per year. This earns shareholders about $3.20 to $3.35 per share – a 10.5 percent average return over five years.

George Soros
Soros Fund Management LLC

George Soros is a hedge fund guru best known for his phenomenally successful Quantum Fund. He is acclaimed for having the best performance record in the world during the company’s 26 years in business. A minor investment of $1000 in 1969, when Quantum Fund was established, would have been worth approximately $4 million by the year 2000. Over the years he has achieved a cumulative 32 percent annual return. Between 1979 and 2011, Soros donated more than $8 billion to various ‘human rights associations’, public health funds, and educational causes.

The company currently holds 129 stocks, 43 of which are new buys, for a total value of $2,306 million. Top holdings include Adecoagro, Motorola Solutions, Interoil, Polo Ralph Lauren and Westport Innovations.

Soros Fund Management, the George Soros hedge fund, disclosed a new 6.95% stake in Openware Systems, equaling 6 million shares. The firm previously did not hold any shares in the company. Openwave Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:OPWV)

Openwave Systems Inc. (OPWV)

Openwave recently agreed to sell its mediation and mobile messaging software business to Marlin Equity Partners for $55 million. In the future, Openwave plans to focus on cultivating its patent portfolio. The company also plans to change it’s name to Unwired Planet, to commemorate its contribution to the development of wireless Internet.

Openwave said it currently owns about 200 U.S. and foreign patents and there are approximately 75 more applications pending. Marlin says it plans to rename the units it is buying Openwave Messaging and Openwave Mobility and to continue with the operation, as well as retain the current management teams.

Below are other notable holdings:

Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO)

Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO) was the biggest investment Soros made as of the end of June 2011. The company is a South American giant in the food and renewable energy production industry. AGRO was recently traded at $8.9, with a market cap of $1.1 billion. In all, Soros had $295 million invested in AGRO shares.

Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI)

Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI) is a world wide provider of business and communication products. The company has been trading at $41.79, yielding a 2.04 percent dividend. MSI had gains of 27.66 percent over the past 52 weeks. The stock has a market cap of $14.8 billion and P/E ratio of 23.3. Soros had $261 million invested in MSI shares.

InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC)

InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC) is primarily involved in the exploration, valuation, and processing of natural gas and crude oil products in Papua New Guinea. InterOil has recently been trading at $53.11, losing 10.01 percent during the past 52 weeks. The stock has a market cap of $2.9 billion. Soros had $232 million invested in IOC shares.

Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL)

Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) is a leader in the fashion and lifestyle product industry. The company stocks are trading at $144.08, with a 0.54 percent dividend yield. Ralph Lauren gained 68.04 percent over the past 52 weeks. The stock is capped at $13.6 billion with a P/E ratio of 22.76. The Soros Fund Management increased it’s investment in RL by double last quarter, giving it nearly one million in shares.

Westport Innovations Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:WPRT)

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ:WPRT) Innovations is a leader in the alternative fuel industry and low emissions technology. Westport stocks are trading at $28.95, equaling a gain of 67.74 percent over the past 52 weeks. The stock is capped at $1.5 billion. Soros had $121 million invested in Wesport Innovations shares.

Prem Watsa
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSE:FFH)

Prem Watsa has frequently been called “the Canadian Warren Buffett”. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Toronto, Ontario based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSE:FFH). The company is primarily engaged in providing personal insurance coverage and investment management. Fairfax handles it’s main operations through subsidiaries such as Zenith Insurance, Northbridge Financial, Odyssey Re and Crum and Forster.

As of December 31, 2010, the company had assets totaling approximately $31.7 billion. Revenue for the previous 52 weeks were approximately $6.2 billion. Under the present management, the book value of the company’s shares compounded by 25 percent per year and common stock prices have grown by 21 percent per year. Fairfax employs more than 8,200 people worldwide, with only 30 of those at their headquarters in Toronto.

Fairfax currently holds securities in 40 different companies, up from 39 as of September 2011. The company’s total number of itemized positions remained unchanged at 44, which includes separate classes of stocks and notes it holds within the companies.

Since Prem Watsa of Fairfax Financial Holdings first bought into AbitibiBowater Inc. (ABH) in 2010, it has added an additional 2.91%, or 495,328 shares with one buy in the first quarter of 2011, plus another 28.52%, or 3,774,059 shares later that same year..

AbitibiBowater, Inc. (NYSE:ABH)  AbitibiBowater, operating as Resolute Forest Products plans to issue first quarter results on May 1, 2012. The company is a global leader in the forestry industry with a wide array of products, including wood products, pulp,

commercial printing papers and newsprint.

The company recently announced it is planning to form a unique partnership with National Envelope, which is a portfolio company of the Gores Group and one of the largest envelop manufacturers in the world. The union will provide an exceptional portfolio for customers.

The names Prem Watsa held mainly stayed the same, except for GLG Partners, which is no longer in the portfolio. While AbitibiBowater (ABH) and EXCO Resources (XCO) were added. In addition,  Watsa trimmed his position in International Coal (ICO) by half, and dramatically increased his interest in SandRidge Energy (SD). Positions in Dell (DELL) and Wells Fargo (WFC) were decreased slightly.

The Fairfax portfolio was at $2.76 billion by the end of 2011, up from $2.27 billion in the previous quarter.

Watsa’s largest stock holdings include:

• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• AbitibiBowater (ABH)
• Dell (DELL)
• Frontier Communications (FTR)
• International Coal (ICO)
• Kraft Foods (KFT)
• SandRidge Energy (SD)
• Wells Fargo (WFC)
• Level 3 (LVLT)
• Research in Motion (RIMM)

Leave a Comment