Central Square Management Urges PICO Holdings Inc (PICO) to Explore Asset Sale Opportunities

In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Central Square Management, led by Kelly Cardwell, disclosed a letter sent to the chair of PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO)’s board Kristina Leslie. According to the letter, Central Square believes that PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO) is deeply undervalued and the company should explore some opportunities in order to increase the shareholder value. The filing also showed that Central Square currently owns 1.37 million shares of PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO) equivalent to 6.0% of the company’s outstanding common stock. The stake represents an increase from 1.29 million shares the fund reported in its 13F for the end of the first quarter.

Central Square was founded by Kelly Cardwell in 2007. The long/short fund employs a fundamental-based bottom-up process to pick stocks. As of March 31, the value of Central Square’s public equality portfolio stood at $96.09 million.

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California-based PICO Holdings Inc. (PICO) is a holding company operating through four segments, including Water Resource and Water Storage Operations, Real Estate Operations, Agribusiness Operations, and Corporate. The company’s stock has declined by 36.42% since the beginning of the year

Central Square stated in its letter to PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO)’s board that it had tried to engage in constructive discussions with the company’s board and management over the past several months to present its views and concerns regarding the direction of the company as well as opportunities to create value for its shareholders. The investor added that it had become frustrated with the company’s failure to substantively address the important issues it had raised in a timely manner.