Billionaire Activist Tom Sandell Targets These Stocks For Q4

#3 Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH)

 – Shares Owned by Sandell Asset Management (as of September 30): 1.37 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of September 30): $36.18 Million

Moving on, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH) is one of the company on which Sandell Asset Management has gone activist in recent months, hence it’s no surprise that after increasing its stake by 111% during the second quarter, the fund yet again increased its stake in the company, by 49% during the third quarter. In August, Sandell Asset Management sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH) voicing its dissatisfaction over the company not engaging in discussions with the fund regarding the appointment of new Directors to the company’s Board. When Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. failed to engage with the fund even after receiving the letter, Sandell launched a proxy fight against the company. The verdict of this proxy fight will be delivered on November 24 at Ethan Allen’s Annual Meeting, where shareholders will vote for or against the six Directors nominated by Sandell Asset Management for Ethan Allen’s seven-member Board. Paul Hondros‘ AlphaOne Capital Partners was one of the hedge funds that initiated a stake in Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. during the third quarter; it held 126,793 shares of the company as of September 30.

#2 Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD)

 – Shares Owned by Sandell Asset Management (as of September 30): 2.23 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of September 30): $51.1 Million

Owing mostly to the massive 33.8% decline shares of Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD) suffered during the third quarter, they are currently trading down by 38.3% year-to-date. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD) is another company in which Sandell Asset Management has been pushing for reforms and that is likely why even after such a massive slump in the company’s stock price, Sandell sold just 7,500 shares of it during the third quarter. Unlike the management of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., the management of Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. seems to be listening to Sandell Asset Management, because in June the company appointed two new Directors to its Board which were approved by the fund. However, it hasn’t yet shown signs of taking Sandell Asset Management’s advice to spin off its real estate assets into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). For the third quarter, Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD) reported a per share loss of $0.37 on revenue of $1.24 billion, compared to a per share loss of $0.23 on revenue of $1.08 billion it reported for the same quarter of last year. With ownership of over 17.64 million shares of the company, Larry Robbins‘ Glenview Capital was its largest shareholder at the end of September among the hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey.

#1 Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE)

 – Shares Owned by Sandell Asset Management (as of September 30): 1.62 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of September 30): $70.26 Million

Finally, even after disposing of 15% of its shares of Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE) during the third quarter, the company remained Sandell Asset Management’s top stock pick at the end of that period. Shares of Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE) haven’t been able to recover from the massive slump they experienced in March after the company reported its fiscal year 2015 third quarter results and currently trade down by 21% year-to-date. On November 17, the company named restaurant-industry veteran Saed Mohseni as its new CEO. Interestingly, Bob Evans Farms Inc’s previous CEO, Steve Davis, resigned under pressure last December after nominees of Sandell Asset Management won four of the 12 Board seats of the company in August. On October 16, analysts at Oppenheimer reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. Chuck Royce‘s Royce & Associates was another firm that reduced its stake in Bob Evans Farms Inc during the third quarter, owning 281,773 shares of the company as of September 30.

Disclosure: None