Bernard Selz’s Selz Capital recently disclosed at the SEC its long equity positions as of June 30 2014. The fund declared stock holdings worth more than $377 million, and a strong focus on services stocks (49%). Let’s take a look at the fund’s top stock positions for the second quarter of 2014 in order to find out if any of them deserve further research.
The first position in this list remained unchaged in rank, despite a 13% reduction in Selz’s position. Macquaire Infrastructure Company LLC (NYSE:MIC) is a $3.9 billion market cap infrastructure businesses (such as chilled water for building cooling and gas utility services) operator of which fund owns 575,313 shares. This position is worth more than $35 million and accounts for roughly 9.5% of the fund’s total equity portfolio’s value.
Even more bullish about Macquaire Infrastructure Company LLC (NYSE:MIC) than Selz is Marcato Capital Management, managed by Richard Mcguire. The fund last disclosed having upped its stake in Macquaire Infrastructure Company LLC (NYSE:MIC) by 2%, to 3.65 million shares.
Next is Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP), a $19 billion market cap company engaged in the transportation, storage and distribution of refined petroleum products, which also saw Selz trim its exposure over Q2 – by 6%. The fund now owns 282,000 shares of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP), worth more than $23 million, which account for 6.2% of its total equity portfolio.
Other funds also seem to like this company with industry leading margins and returns, and a stock that trades below its peers’ average valuation –in relation to the company’s earnings. For instance, John Osterweis’ Osterweis Capital Management last declared ownership of 1.57 million shares of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP).
Third in line is Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT), a position that remained unchanged over Q2. This $38 billion market cap specialty pharmaceutical company has seen its stock price rise almost 8% since the end of the first quarter of 2014, and more than 30%, year-to-date. Currently, Selz’s 100,000 shares at is Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) are worth almost $22 million.
Another hedge fund with big stakes in this company is Louis Navellier’s Navellier & Associates, which disclosed ownership of 386,161 shares of the company by the end of Q2. Other prominent investors betting on Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) are Dan Loeb and Stephen Mandel, both of which own more than 2 million shares –each.
Another company that made it to the top 5 in spite of a reduction in the fund’s position is Air Lease Corp (NYSE:AL), a $3.8 billion market cap aircraft leasing company. After disposing of 16,000 shares, Selz owns 528,000 shares of Air Lease Corp (NYSE:AL), with a market value of more than $20 million. This stock has also seen its price escalate considerably –more than 21%- since the beginning of 2014, and analysts expect it to continue to surge, and extra 14% over the next few months.
Given these forecasts, one can understand why several major hedge funds are betting on Air Lease Corp (NYSE:AL). Once again, John Osterweis’ Osterweis Capital Management can be counted amongst the most bullish. The fund owns more than 3.3 million shares, and last declared having slightly upped its stake in the company.
The only newcomer in this list (compared to Q1 2014) is Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), a $137 billion market cap research-based biopharmaceutical company that saw Selz almost double its exposure over Q2. After purchasing 90,000 shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), the fund owns 200,000 shares, worth more than $16.5 million.
Even further, several other major hedge funds, including Samuel Isaly’s Orbimed Advisors, also seem to feel quite bullish about Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). Orbimed is listed as the largest hedge fund shareholder of record, with 5.31 million shares, up 6% over the last reported quarter –Q1 2014.
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no position in any stocks or funds mentioned
