Ariel Investments’ Greatest Q3 2021 Detractor: “Masco Corp. (MAS)

Ariel Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund” third-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A return of -0.17% was recorded by the Fund for the third quarter of 2021, compared to the Russell 2500TM Value Index, Russell 2500TM Index, and S&P 500® Index which had a -2.07%, -2.68%, and 0.58% returns respectively for the same period. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) and discussed its stance on the firm. Masco Corporation is a Livonia, Michigan-based manufacturing company with a $16.96 billion market capitalization. MAS delivered a 26.16% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 27.13%. The stock closed at $69.30 per share on December 15, 2021.

Here is what Ariel Fund & Ariel Appreciation Fund has to say about Masco Corporation  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Conversely, branded home improvement and building products manufacturer Masco Corp. (MAS) was the greatest detractor from relative performance in the period. We believe this price action runs counter to the strength of the long-term fundamentals in the business. Despite investor concerns related to supply chain cost pressures, MAS continues to deliver financial and operating results ahead of consensus, while returning capital to shareholders via buybacks. Near term, we believe MAS is well positioned to capitalize on growing interest in do-ityourself home enhancement. Looking ahead, we expect the company to enhance its operating profitability, as it continues to benefit from scale, technological know-how and the positioning of its supply chain.”

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Based on our calculations, Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. MAS was in 29 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 35 funds in the previous quarter. Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) delivered an 18.52% return in the past 3 months.

In April this year, we shared another hedge fund’s views on MAS in another article. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.