What smart money investors think about Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW), White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)? The sentiment towards each stock is different, but one fund that is bullish on all four companies is Alan S. Parsow‘s Elkhorn Partners.
Elkhorn Partners is a fund that has an equity portfolio worth $166.53 million as of the end of September, up from $153.21 million a quarter earlier. It invests mainly in financial stocks, which represent 87% of its equity portfolio. According to our calculations, Elkhorn’s equity portfolio returned 11.27% in the third quarter. Our methodology of calculating returns includes a fund’s long positions in companies worth at least $1.0 billion held as of the beginning of a quarter. Even though this approach is not accurate and a Elkhorn’s returns can be different from its actual performance, we can still get an idea whether a fund is worth following.
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Having said that, let’s take a look at the Elkhorn Partners’ four holdings and see how they affected its returns, and how the investors were collectively positioned towards them
In Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW), Elkhorn held 3.99 million shares at the end of September, down from 4.05 million shares it had reported as of the end of June. The stock advanced by 19.7% in the second quarter, which resulted in the increase of the value of Elkhorn’s position to $89.98 million from $76.77 million. The number of funds from our database long Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW) declined by two to 16 during the second quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings, managed by Prem Watsa, amassed the largest stake, which was worth $169.8 million at the end of June. The second most bullish fund manager was Alan S. Parsow of Elkhorn Partners, with a $76.8 million position. Other members of the smart money that were bullish on Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW) included Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management, and Charles Paquelet’s Skylands Capital.
Follow Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KW)
Follow Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KW)
On the other hand, White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM)‘s stock inched down by 1.4% during the third quarter. Elkhorn held 28,715 shares worth $23.83 million at the end of September and 28,700 shares worth $24.17 million a quarter earlier. Moreover, at the end of June, 11 funds tracked by us held shares of White Mountains Insurance Group, down from 15 funds a quarter earlier. The largest stake in White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM) was held by Wallace Capital Management, which reported holding $77.2 million worth of stock at the end of June. It was followed by Third Avenue Management with a $57.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Renaissance Technologies and AQR Capital Management.
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Follow White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM)
In The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), Elkhorn kept its stake unchanged during the third quarter at 27,100 shares. However, amid a 5.2% growth registered by the stock between July and September, the value of its position went up to $1.41 million from $1.35 million. Heading into the third quarter of 2016, a total of 48 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 9% from one quarter earlier. Among them, Third Point, managed by Dan Loeb, was the top shareholder of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), having amassed $994.2 million worth of stock at the end of June. The second largest stake was held by Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital, with a $271.8 million position. Remaining peers that are bullish comprised John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Follow Dow Chemical (Old Filings) (INDEXDJX:DOW)
Follow Dow Chemical (Old Filings) (INDEXDJX:DOW)
On the other hand, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)‘s stock lost 5.2% during the third quarter and Elkhorn unloaded its entire stake, which had previously contained 26,500 shares worth $834,000 at the end of June. The number of funds from our database long General Electric Company declined by seven to 57 during the second quarter. The largest stake in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was held by Trian Partners, which reported holding $2.35 billion worth of stock as of the end of June. It was followed by Fisher Asset Management with a $1.0 billion position. Other investors bullish on General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) included First Pacific Advisors LLC, Berkshire Hathaway, and Adage Capital Management.
