Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its “Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund” third quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the third quarter, the portfolio was 2.4% down compared to a 4.46% fall in the Russell Midcap Value Index. The performance was attributed to strong stock selection mainly in the Utilities and Industrials sectors. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks like Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) in the third quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin, Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) branded consumer products company. On October 12, 2023, Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) stock closed at $74.90 per share. One-month return of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) was -6.33%, and its shares gained 81.49% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) has a market capitalization of $2.672 billion.
Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund made the following comment about Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Consumer Staples. During the quarter, we initiated a new position in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB), another deep value company with multiple self-help catalysts.
After several divestitures in recent years, Spectrum is mostly a pureplay Consumer Staples company focusing on pet care and home and garden supplies, including recognizable brands such as Spectracide lawn and garden products and SmartBone dog treats.
SPB is in the process of transforming itself from an acquisition-oriented holding company into an integrated operating company with sharper focus. As part of that process, the company recently divested its Hardware and Home Improvement segment, selling it to the Swedish conglomerate Assa Abloy for $4.3 billion in cash. We owned Spectrum when this divestiture was originally announced but exited our position when the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued to block the sale. That action threatened to derail SPB’s efforts to improve its balance sheet and shed a highly discretionary segment that was noncore to the company’s strategy.
We recently got clarity on this overhang, when the DOJ reached a settlement with Assa Abloy, allowing the sale to go through. This gives SPB ample capacity to repurchase shares at a steep discount to intrinsic value while setting the stage for operational improvements. Meanwhile, the stock trades at just 7X next year’s EBITDA and 5X to 5.5X normalized EBITDA.”
Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 39 hedge fund portfolios held Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) at the end of the second quarter, which was 37 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) in another article and shared the list of best household and personal care stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
