Oaktree Invests USD200m in WHP Global (Hedge Week)
WHP Global (WHP), a new brand management platform led by Chairman & CEO Yehuda Shmidman has launched backed by a USD200 million equity commitment from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management (Oaktree). WHP was founded to acquire and manage multiple global consumer brands, leveraging a shared platform to unlock competitive advantages at scale and fuel growth for each distinctive brand in its portfolio. The Company plans to deploy up to USD1 billion in capital over the next five years. The Company also today announced its first acquisition with the purchase of global fashion brand Anne Klein from Premier Brands Group. An iconic legacy women’s fashion brand founded in 1968, Anne Klein serves women around the world with classic American style.
Scaramucci Disinvited from Florida Republican Fundraiser for Calling Trump’s Tweets “Racist” (Salon.com)
Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who lasted 11 days as President Donald Trump’s White House communications director before being fired, was disinvited from a Florida Republican fundraiser after he denounced Trump’s “racist and unacceptable” tweets directed at a group of newly-elected congresswomen of color. “He suggested that the president’s comments were racist and that he was becoming a racist. Our board was infuriated,” said Michael A. Barnett, the Palm Beach County GOP chairman, home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. “We believe the tweets were not racist, the president is not racist and that Scaramucci’s comments were unfair,” Barnett, who is African American, told Politico, which first broke. the story.
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Here’s Why Hedge Fund Manager Ray Dalio’s Gold Case May be Wrong (CNBC)
One commodity has proven a golden opportunity in the past week. The price of gold has moved 1% higher against a slight drop for the S&P 500 as investors favored a safety hedge following the stock market’s record run. Gold prices moved even higher Wednesday after billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio picked the commodity as one of his top investments. In a LinkedIn post, he said the asset could act as a defensive play as global markets undergo a “paradigm shift.”
Billionaire Tom Steyer Needs Your Money, or his Campaign is Doomed (San Francisco Chronicle)
Billionaire former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer inadvertently sent a message to potential donors when he promised to spend $100 million on his Democratic presidential campaign: I don’t need your money. The problem is, while Steyer doesn’t need money, he needs donors — 130,000 of them — to qualify for the Democratic National Committee’s Sept. 12 debate in Houston. That’s in addition to support of 2% or more in four national or early-voting-state polls.
Bill Ackman Finds Activist Attention Unappealing (BreakingViews.com)
The hedge fund boss’s $4 bln London-listed fund has incurred investor wrath over its low price and a bond issue. The prescription is activism 101: buy back stock and shake up the board. Ackman, for once a target, may find new sympathy for the defence that he just needs more time.
Agenta Gets New Multi-Asset Fund Off the Ground (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Stockholm-based asset manager Agenta Investment Management launched a multi-asset absolute return fund at the beginning of 2019. Agenta Alternativa Investeringar, a hedge fund that predominantly makes direct and indirect investments in equities and bonds, has now joined the Nordic Hedge Index. Agenta Alternativa Investeringar is a multi-asset absolute return fund with a broad investment mandate, which allows making both direct and indirect investments in listed and unlisted securities in various asset classes. Since launching on the first day of January, the fund has predominantly allocated capital to Nordic bonds, Swedish equities and long/short equity funds. The fund’s investments are predominantly focused in Sweden, but its investment mandate allows investing globally as well.
Hedge Fund Betting on Years of Low Rates Puts 99% Cash in Stocks (Bloomberg)
A hedge fund that’s delivered almost double the returns of the S&P 500 Index this year is going all-in on stocks — at least the safe and stodgy ones. Valley Forge Capital Management, whose $460 million of assets is invested in just nine stocks, has cut its cash holdings to 1%, the lowest in seven years and compared with an average 20% in the fund’s history, according to founder Dev Kantesaria.
Icf International Inc (ICFI) Chairman & CEO Sudhakar Kesavan Sold $1.2 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman & CEO of Icf International Inc (30-Year Financial, Insider Trades) Sudhakar Kesavan (insider trades) sold 15,000 shares of ICFI on 07/16/2019 at an average price of $82 a share. The total sale was $1.2 million. ICF International Inc provides professional services and technology-based solutions to government and commercial clients, including management, technology, and policy consulting and implementation services. ICF International Inc has a market cap of $1.54 billion; its shares were traded at around $81.86 with a P/E ratio of 24.55 and P/S ratio of 1.13. The dividend yield of ICF International Inc stocks is 0.68%. ICF International Inc had annual average EBITDA growth of 5.00% over the past ten years.
Thursday 7/18 Insider Buying Report: UNT, IEA (Nasdaq.com)
On Wednesday, Unit Corp. (UNT)’s Director, G. Bailey Peyton IV, made a $21,900 purchase of UNT, buying 3,000 shares at a cost of $7.30 each. Unit Corp. is trading down about 0.3% on the day Thursday. Before this latest buy, Peyton IV made one other purchase in the past year, buying $34,950 shares for a cost of $11.65 each. And on Monday, CEO John Paul Roehm purchased $2,790 worth of Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives (IEA), purchasing 1,000 shares at a cost of $2.79 a piece. Before this latest buy, Roehm made one other purchase in the past year, buying $4,900 shares at a cost of $4.90 a piece. Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives is trading off about 2.3% on the day Thursday. Bargain hunters are able to buy IEA at a price even lower than Roehm did, with the stock changing hands as low as $2.56 at last check today which is 8.2% below Roehm’s purchase price.
A Director at Central Garden Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Director at Central Garden Pet (CENT), John Balousek, bought shares of CENT for $200K. This recent transaction increases John Balousek’s holding in the company by 171.03% to a total of $629.5K. Following John Balousek’s last CENT Buy transaction on May 31, 2016, the stock climbed by 8.6%. Based on Central Garden Pet’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending March 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $674 million and quarterly net profit of $42.39 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $658 million and had a net profit of $41.55 million. CENT’s market cap is $1.61B and the company has a P/E ratio of 15.67. Currently, Central Garden Pet has an average volume of 62.75K.
Texas Man Sentenced in Insider Trading Scheme Over Move Tip (InMan.com)
Hamed Ettu, a 44-year-old Richmond, Texas man, was sentenced to three years’ probation, the first nine months of which he will be required to serve in home confinement, perform 120 hours of community service and pay a fine of $15,000 in an insider trading scheme, where he illegally purchased call options in the realtor.com operator Move, and others. Ettu allegedly received material non-public information from Damilare Sonoiki, then a junior analyst at Goldman Sachs, regarding the companies. Sonoiki, who is charged in a separate case, also allegedly provided information to ex-NFL player Mychal Kendricks. Sonoiki, according to the charges, obtained the information in violation of his duty of confidentiality.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) Chief Technology Officer & EVP Mark D Papermaster Sold $1 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chief Technology Officer & EVP of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (30-Year Financial, Insider Trades) Mark D Papermaster (insider trades) sold 30,000 shares of AMD on 07/15/2019 at an average price of $33.34 a share. The total sale was $1 million. Advanced Micro Devices Inc designs and produces microprocessors and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications, and consumer electronics industries. Advanced Micro Devices Inc has a market cap of $36.34 billion; its shares were traded at around $33.60 with a P/E ratio of 134.40 and P/S ratio of 6.06. GuruFocus has detected 1 severe warning sign with Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
