In this article, we discuss Michael Burry’s top 5 new stock picks. For Burry’s investment philosophy and his comments on certain stocks please see Michael Burry’s New Stock Picks.
5. CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE: CXW)
Value: $6,550,000
Percent of Michael Burry’s 13F Portfolio: 2.92%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
Corecivic ranks 5th on the list of Michael Burry’s new stock picks. The company operates over 50 correctional and detention facilities. The stock has lost about 23% in value over the last 12 months. In the fourth quarter, Corecivic’s normalized FFO came in at $0.63, beating the consensus of $0.49. The company in the quarter reduced its debt load by $125 million. The stock recently fell after The United States Marshals Services notified that company that it won’t extend its contract for the Ohio correctional center. The news comes after President Biden signed an executive order asking the Justice Department not to renew contracts with private correctional centers.
As of the end of the fourth quarter, there were 18 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database that held stakes in CoreCivic, compared to 19 funds in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital, with 2.8 million shares of CXW, is the biggest stakeholder in the company.
4. Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE: TAP)
Value: $6,779,000
Percent of Michael Burry’s 13F Portfolio: 3.02%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39
Michael Burry bought 150,000 new shares of Molson Coors in the fourth quarter, ending the period with a $6.78 million stake in the company. The beverage company is behind several famous brands like Carling, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian and Staropramen. Molson Coors shares are up 19% over the last 12 months. The company posted weak Q4 results as it increases spending on new products. Last year, the company suspended its dividend, but the management now plans to recommend a resumption in dividend payments in the second half of 2021.
As of the end of the fourth quarter, 39 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of 887 funds held stakes in TAP, compared to 33 funds in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital is the biggest stakeholder in the company, with 2.4 million shares, worth $108.6 million.
In their Q3 2020 investor letter, Argosy Investors highlighted a few stocks and Molson Coors Beverage Co (NYSE:TAP) is one of them. Here is what Argosy Investors said:
“I purchased shares of Molson Coors (TAP) during the third quarter, and this mid-tier brewer is valued attractively at less than 8x EBITDA, at the low end of historical multiples.
I do not expect a lot of growth from this investment, but it is challenging to find fairly-priced resilient businesses in the current environment, and if there is one thing I can count on is that people will drink beer, especially during a pandemic. The biggest risk is obviously that they may choose to drink other types of beer, specifically craft beers. While the company’s balance sheet is a little stretched, I believe the company is focused on reducing debt, most noticeably in their decision to suspend their dividend for 2020. I do not believe this investment will provide explosive returns for us, but I believe it is an attractive alternative to cash. The company can pay down significant amounts of debt fairly quickly and deliver reasonable equity returns by doing so.
Additionally, the company recently got into the hard seltzer game, specifically through their Vizzy and Coors Seltzer products. The author took the opportunity to sample these products over the Labor Day holiday, and came away impressed with the decent flavors, and subsequent conversations with millennials and particularly millennial females who had tried the product reflected positive early feedback for these offerings. Finally, Molson Coors announced a partnership with Coca-Cola to develop their Topo Chico hard seltzer product. The hard seltzer category is growing mid-teens percent annually right now, and I believe Molson Coors has enough irons in the fire here to make a decent impact on their top and bottom lines. Any amount of unexpected growth from these products would be a cherry on top to our investment case.”
3. The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO)
Value: $7,488,000
Percent of Michael Burry’s 13F Portfolio: 3.33%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
Florida-based REIT Geo Group ranks 3rd on the list of Michael Burry’s top new stock picks as his hedge fund Scion Asset Management bought 845,152 shares of the company, worth $7.5 million. Geo Group mainly invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in the U.S. U.K. Europe, Australia and Africa. The company has strong partnerships with governments. As of 2019, over half of the company’s revenue come from its partnership with federal agencies. Last month, the company priced a private offering of $200 million of 6.50% exchangeable senior unsecured notes due 2026 by its wholly-owned subsidiary, GEO Corrections Holdings.
A total of 18 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish GEO at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 12 funds a quarter earlier. Arrowstreet Capital is the biggest stakeholder in the company, with 2.69 million shares, worth $23.8 million.
Miller Value Partners, in their Q4 2020 investor letter, said that The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) was the top detractor in their fourth quarter 2020 results.
Here is what Miller Value Partners has to say about The GEO Group, Inc. in their Q4 2020 investor letter:
“GEO Group (GEO) was the top detractor over the quarter, falling 19.4%. The company reported Q3 revenue of $579.1M (-1% Quarter-over-Quarter (Q/Q)), net operating income of $151.4M (+2% Q/Q), and Earnings Before Income, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Restructuring (EBITDAR) of $112.1M (-1% Q/Q). Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of $0.67 drove 2.0x coverage on the quarterly dividend of $0.34/share (15.4% annualized yield). GEO exited the quarter with cash of $54M and net debt of $2.6Bn, which on TTM EBITDAR of $448.8M implies net leverage of 5.8x. Management lifted Fiscal Year (FY) 20 guidance across the board, including revenue +0.3% to $4.347Bn, Net Operating Income (NOI) +3% to $609M, EBITDAR +4.4% to $429M, and AFFO +5.6% to $2.44/share (28% FCF yield). Additionally, GEO maintained guidance for $100M of debt paydown in 2020 and a minimum of $50M each year moving forward, which coupled with savings from the previously announced reduced dividend will be applied towards debt reduction.”
2. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC)
Value: $7,545,000
Percent of Michael Burry’s 13F Portfolio: 3.36%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99
Michael Burry joined the 99 hedge funds that are bullish on Wells Fargo in the fourth quarter, compared to 90 funds in the previous quarter. Scion bought 250,000 shares of the company, worth $7.55 million. The company recently said that it continues to see a strong mortgage origination rate in the first quarter of 2021. The stock is up 42% over the last 12 months.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is one of the 99 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey having stakes in WFC at the end of the fourth quarter. The fund owns over 52.4 million shares of the company.
Miller Value Partners, in their Q4 2020 investor letter, said that Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) has been added in their portfolio during the second half of 2020. Here is what Miller Value Partners has to say about Wells Fargo & Company in their Q4 2020 investor letter:
“During the second half of the year, we initiated a position in Wells Fargo (WFC). The company’s share price has been under significant pressure since the 2016 account scandal, leading to senior management resignations, significant incremental expenses, and regulatory oversight. The company has a new CEO, Charlie Scharf, who joined in 2019 from JP Morgan. Charlie has been moving quickly to turnaround the company. He has brought in six new members to the Operating Committee all from outside the company and has recruited numerous successful senior executives from JP Morgan, BNY Mellon, and other leading financial institutions to fill senior roles at the bank. The company is taking a fresh look at each business segment, benchmarking against its peers. The company’s operating efficiency is more than 1700bps out of line with their peer group, providing a $10B cost and efficiency opportunity over the next couple of years. Wells Fargo’s stock price was more than cut in half during 2020; we entered the position at a 40% discount to book value which was near 30 year lows and approaching 2008-09 Financial crisis levels. Over the next couple of years, greater operating efficiencies and loan growth would support a return to 10%+ ROE, normalized EPS of $5/share, and book value likely approaching $50/share. We believe it’s more likely than not Wells Fargo’s share will be a top performer over the next couple of years.”
1. NOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW)
Value: $10,770,000
Percent of Michael Burry’s 13F Portfolio: 4.79%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Now Inc. ranks 1st on the list of Michael Burry’s new stock picks. The oil drilling services company operates under DistributionNOW and Wilson Export brand names. Its products are used in upstream drilling, oil exploration, midstream infrastructure, power generation and other industrial segments. Now Inc. shares recently rallied after the company announced its plans to acquire Flex Flow business from GR Energy Services. The stock is up 75% over the last 12 months.
There were 22 hedge funds that hold a position in NOW Inc. in the fourth quarter of 2020. The biggest stakeholder of the company is Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, with 6.48 million shares, worth $46.5 million.
In their Q4 2020 investor letter, Palm Valley Capital highlighted a few stocks and Now Inc. (NYSE:DNOW) is one of them. Here is what Palm Valley Capital said:
“NOW is a 2014 spinoff from National Oilwell Varco and has a 150-year legacy as a distributor to the oil and gas and industrial markets. Through a vast network of 245 locations, NOW’s 300,000 SKU product offering addresses all segments of the energy value chain, from upstream E&Ps to midstream infrastructure to downstream refining, in addition to industrial end markets including chemicals, mining, utilities, and manufacturing. When energy companies reduce activity, NOW suffers. However, it has streamlined its business since the last oil and gas downturn and expects reduced operating losses this round. As of June 30th, NOW had $269 million of cash and no debt ($497 million market cap), although if demand recovers as we expect, some cash will be reinvested in working capital. The stock is currently selling for 66% of tangible book value.
Pason and NOW represent our fourth and fifth investments in the energy sector. The active rig count in the U.S. is at all-time lows. When considering our timing, we concluded, if not now, when? Our largest energy holding is Helmerich & Payne, the nation’s largest drilling contractor. It’s selling for half of book value. We believe the financial strength of our holdings is far above the typical energy company. Even so, we have kept our exposure to the energy sector in check given our concerns about the overall economy.”
You can also take a peek at Billionaire Jim Simons’ Top 10 Stock Picks and Billionaire Steve Cohen’s Top 10 Stock Picks.
