Amid many hedge fund moves that took place over the recent couple of weeks, there are several that stand out and shouldn’t go unnoticed. With this in mind, we have picked out five hedge moves that took place during the last month.
Prescott Group Capital Management, run by Phil Frohlich, has increased its stake in Bluephoenix Solutions Ltd (NASDAQ:BPHX). The fund has recently added to its position to 3.3 million shares, the equivalent of 29% of the company’s common stock. The value of Prescott Group’s current holding is above $14 million. Bluephoenix Solutions has a market cap of $46 million and a beta of 1.59. The company had a net loss of $1.2 million for the past quarter, an improvement from a loss of $3.7 million posted a year ago.
Steven Cohen has got into Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTS). His fund, SAC Capital Advisors, has recently opened a new position, acquiring 2.6 million shares of the company, or 5% of Tile Shop Holdings’ common stock. The stock has a market cap of $850 million and a forward Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of 28.60. The beta of 0.05 suggests Tile Shop Holdings is a fairly stable performer relative to the market. For the third quarter of 2013, the company reported net sales of $56.8 million, up from $44.2 million for the same period in 2012, and Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.08, compared to the loss per share of $0.87 registered during Q2 of 2012. For the current quarter, analysts expect Tile Shop to report revenues of $60.22 million and EPS of $0.10.
John Griffin and his fund Blue Ridge Capital are bullish on Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR). The fund has recently increased its holding of the stock by more than 50% to 6.6 million shares, which account for 6.2% of the company’s common stock. The new position has an approximate value of $243 million. The stock has a forward P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 2.58, making it a fairly volatile one. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Avis Budget Group reported revenues of $2.4 billion and EPS)of $1.02 for the third quarter of 2013.
Another stock that has caught the eye of hedge fund managers is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co. (NASDAQ:HMHC). Kevin Michael Ulrich and his fund, Anchorage Advisors, have added to their stake in this educational materials provider. Anchorage Advisors currently holds some 21.8 million shares, approximately 15.6% of the company’s common stock. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt went public on November 14th, in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) priced at $12 per share. In total, 18.3 million shares were offered.
GAMCO Investors, run by Mario Gabelli, has also been very active in the stock market. The fund has recently increased the holding of Griffin Land & Nurseries, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRIF) shares. Gabelli and GAMCO currently own 1.7 million shares, or 33% of the company’s common stock. Griffin Land & Nurseries has a market cap of $167 million and a beta of 0.92. On November 20th, the company announced the introduction of a dividend. An annual dividend of $0.20 per share, which represents a yield of 0.6%, will be paid on December 10th to stockholders of record on December 3rd.
Disclosure: none.
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