The television industry is facing a real challenge from online stream content. TV cable service providers are concerned about people’s shift towards online content streaming. Top players, including Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) and DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH), saw a notable decrease in TV subscribers this year. At Insider Monkey, we closely follow moves of over 700 hedge funds, and, in this article, we’ll discuss the top five cable TV stocks in which hedge funds see a value.
Top investors spend considerable time and money conducting due diligence on each company they invest in, which makes them the perfect investors to emulate. However, we also know that the returns of hedge funds on the whole have not been good for several years, underperforming the market. We analyzed the historical stock picks of these investors and our research revealed that the small-cap picks of these funds performed far better than their large-cap picks, which is where most of their money is invested and why their performances as a whole have been poor. Why pay fees to invest in both the best and worst ideas of a particular hedge fund when you can simply mimic the best ideas of the best fund managers on your own? A portfolio consisting of the 15 most popular small-cap stock picks among the funds we track has returned 102% and beaten the market by more than 53 percentage points since the end of August 2012 (see more details).
#5 Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC)
– Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 36
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $1.77 billion
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC)’s shares have surged by 51.55% year-to-date. In September, Cablevision agreed to be acquired by Netherlands-based Altice in a $17.7 billion deal, valuing the company at $34.90 per share. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2016. Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC)’s financial position seems not very impressive, as the company third-quarter profit declined significantly to $23.10 million compared to $71.49 million a year ago. Its revenue arrived at $1.61 billion, versus $1.63 billion in the last year’s quarter. Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors sees value in Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC), owning 9.94 million shares of the company at the end of September.
#4 DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH)
– Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 53
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $3.09 billion
DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) saw a drop in its subscribers during the third quarter. The company reported losing 23,000 subscribers in the July-September period. Despite improved financial results, DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH)’s shares have lost 20.24% year-to-date. The company’s income for the third quarter increased to $196.48 million compared to $145.52 million in the same period a year-ago. During the third quarter, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management was bullish on DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH), in which the investor increased its stake by 39% to 4.76 million shares.
#3 Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)
– Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 87
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $11.26 billion
Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)’s stock has gained 9.85% year-to-date, as the company posted improved its financial position during the third quarter compared to last year’s period when it did not make a profit. Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) posted income of $54 million for the third quarter, versus a loss of $53 million a year earlier. Its quarterly revenues rose 7.2% year-over-year to $2.5 billion. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sees a value in Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), raising its position by 21% to 10.28 million shares during the last quarter. In May, Charter Communications agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $56 billion. The parties are optimistic about the transaction, even though the deal is currently facing regulatory hurdles.
#2 Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK)
– Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 89
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $8.28 billion
Liberty Global is an international cable company that operates in 14 countries. For the third quarter, Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK) reported EPS of $0.05 on revenue of $4.6 billion, versus $0.09 per share on revenue of $4.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. The company’s broadband segment posted a significant growth during the quarter, adding 222,000 new customers. But this performance does not seem enough to impress the investors, as the company’s stock has lost 20.18% year-to-date. Among the investors we track, Boykin Curry‘s Eagle Capital Management is the largest shareholder of Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK), holding over 30 million shares of the company.
#1 Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)
– Number of Hedge Fund Holders (as of September 30): 107
– Total Value of Hedge Fund Holdings (as of September 30): $16.16 billion
Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)’s stock has been showing a strong performance, trading up by 21.33% year-to-date. As stated previously, earlier this year Time Warner Cable agreed to be acquired by Charter Communications.. For the third quarter, Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)’s profit fell to $437 million, versus $499 million a year ago. The company reported revenue of $4.74 billion, up by 3.6% year-over-year. Billionaire John Paulson‘s Paulson & Co was the largest shareholder of the company among the funds tracked by us, holding more than 8.1 million shares of the company at the end of September.
Disclosure: none
