As a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed, Robert Polak‘s Anchor Bolt Capital boosted its position in the oil & gas transportation company Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE:HOS) to 2.29 million shares, from 516,000 shares revealed earlier. In another filing, Ed Beddow and William Tichy‘s Beddow Capital Management disclosed raising their stake in Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX) to some 697,300 shares, from 176,200 shares. Both funds hold passive stakes in Hornbeck and Manitex, which represent 6.31% and 5.0% of the companies’ common stock respectively.
Anchor Bolt Capital was launched in 2012, by the former portfolio manager of Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors. At Citadel, Mr. Polak was responsible for running the global industrials team and managed a portfolio valued at around $3 billion between 2005 and 2010. After founding his own fund, Mr. Polak stuck with his area of expertise as Anchor Bolt is investing in capital equipment, basic materials, and energy stocks. In its latest 13F filing, Anchor Bold disclosed an equity portfolio valued at $1.45 billion comprised of 80 stocks, while the largest holding was represented by United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X), of which the fund held around 1.63 million shares. Anchor Bolt added the company to its equity portfolio during the first quarter of 2014 and as it raised its stake throughout the first nine months of last year, the stock of the company gained around 33%.
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE:HOS) has been in the equity portfolio of Anchor Bolt since the second quarter of 2013, the fund initially disclosing ownership of 110,600 shares of the company. The stock lost around 55% since the end of June, 2013. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE:HOS) is engaged in providing marine transportation services for the oil and gas exploration and production industry, as well as to the United States military. The underperformance of its stock can be explained by a significant decrease in the overall level among shipping stocks, as well as the declining oil prices.
In addition, other investors also seem to be bullish on Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE:HOS). At the end of September, Debra Fine’s Fine Capital Partners raised its stake by 29% to 3.39 million shares, while Michael Novogratz‘s Fortress Investment Group initiated a position in the company with 594,900 shares.
Mr. Beddow, the founder and president of Beddow Capital Management is a contrarian investor, who is focusing on companies whose value is not reflected in their market price. The investor follows a philosophy that involves a timely investment in companies that will provide superior long-term returns. In its latest 13F filing, Beddow Capital Management disclosed a diversified equity portfolio valued at $339.72 million. Among other companies, the fund is invested in International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Cabelas Inc (NYSE:CAB), and INVESTOR AB (OTCMKTS:IVSBF), which represent its three largest holdings and amass 14.70% of its total equity portfolio value.
Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX), Beddow’s latest move, has been in its equity portfolio since the third quarter of 2013. Initially, the fund held 12,600 shares of the company. Meanwhile, as the investor boosted its stake in the company, the share price of Manitex gained around 7% since September 2013. With a market cap of $160 million, Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX) is an industrial machinery company that operates in providing engineered lifting solutions.
Earlier this year, Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX) completed the acquisition of PM Group, an Italy-based manufacturer of truck mounted hydraulic knuckle boom cranes. Moreover, for the third quarter of 2014, Manitex reported revenues of $66 million, up from $58 million a year ago. However, its earnings declined to $0.13 per share, from $0.21 in the same quarter of 2013.
Other investors, own less significant stakes in Manitex, as our data show. At the end of September, Charles Paquelet‘s Skylands Capital disclosed ownership of 204,000 shares, up by 2% on the quarter, followed by Jeffrey Bronchick’s Cove Street Capital with a new position that contained 90,000 shares. However, in the equity portfolios of the funds that we track, Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX) represents very small positions, which account less than 0.5% of the total value.
Disclosure: none
