We recently published an article titled Greenhaven Associates: Top 10 Stocks to Invest in. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) stands against the other stocks.
Edgar “Ed” Wachenheim III is the founder, CEO, and chairman of Greenhaven Associates, a hedge fund management company that manages over $7 billion in investments. He serves as the vice chairman of the board of Central National-Gottesman, the chairman of WNET’s board, a trustee at the Museum of Modern Art, and a life trustee who previously chaired both the executive and investment committees of the New York Public Library. Additionally, he is a trustee emeritus and former vice chair at Skidmore College, as well as a trustee emeritus and past board president of Rye Country Day School. A notable figure in the investment community, Ed’s most recent, prominent achievement is the publishing of his book “Common Stocks and Common Sense” in 2016.
Wachenheim’s book, published by Wiley in April 2016, details his investment strategies and provides insight into his career as a successful value investor. In “Common Stocks and Common Sense”, he explains his approach to investing in undervalued companies that face a low probability of permanent loss, with a goal of achieving an annual return between 15% and 20%. He typically holds stocks for multiple years until they appreciate as expected and makes very few changes to his holdings in the shorter term. Even when his investment thesis proves incorrect, Wachenheim argues that his investments still tend to generate positive returns, given that the stock market has historically returned an average of 9% to 10% annually. His strong emphasis on downside risk and capital preservation is a hallmark of his investment philosophy. He also contributed a chapter to the 2017 book “Harriman’s New Book of Investing Rules”, and a second edition of his own book was released in 2022.
Greenhaven Associates was founded in 1987 as a branch of Central National-Gottesman, one of the largest global marketers and distributors of paper, packaging, wood, and metals. Wachenheim invests with a long-term time horizon of three to four years, disregarding short-term performance, analyst predictions, and hedge fund sentiment. This disciplined approach seems to work in Greenhaven Associates’ favor, as the hedge fund has achieved an impressive average annual return of approximately 19% between 1988 and 2017.
Beyond his career in finance, Wachenheim has been deeply involved in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. He served on the Skidmore College board from 1993 to 2001, where three of his children studied, and later became vice chair and chair of the investment committee until 2003. He has also been a long-time supporter of Williams College, his own alma mater, where a new science center is named after him. Additionally, he is a life trustee of the New York Public Library, where the Trustees Room has been named in his honor. Wachenheim chaired the board of WNET, the PBS affiliate, from 2017 to 2022, having joined the board a year earlier.
His extensive philanthropic work includes serving on the boards of UJA-Federation of New York, the New York Foundation (1990–1999), and the Arthur Ross Foundation. He and his wife oversee the Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation, a charitable organization with reported assets of $438 million in 2022. The foundation has directed significant contributions to cultural and educational institutions, including Williams College, Skidmore College, the Museum of Modern Art, WNET, and the New York Public Library.
According to its 13F filing for Q4 2024, Greenhaven Associates held stocks worth a total value of over $6.7 billion with stakes in 22 companies. Notably, the hedge fund’s recent portfolio modification has revealed that over 65% of its hedge fund is invested in just four stocks.
Our Methodology
The stocks discussed below were picked from Greenhaven Associates’ 13F filings for the fourth quarter of 2024. They have been compiled in the ascending order of Greenhaven Associates’ stake in them as of December 31, 2024. To provide readers with a more holistic analysis of each stock, we have included the hedge fund sentiment regarding each company using data from over 900 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds show interest in? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the latest top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A worker welding an intricate frame in a factory for heavy construction machinery.
Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q3: 33
Greenhaven Associates’ Equity Stake: $242.63 Million
Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is a global manufacturer specializing in purpose-built vehicles and equipment, such as specialty trucks, military vehicles, fire apparatus, and access equipment. With operations across 19 countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, and Romania, the company operates through 12 brands and four main segments: access, vocational, defense, and corporate. It owns several subsidiaries, including Pierce Manufacturing for fire apparatus and JLG Industries for lift equipment. Employing around 18,000 people across 125 facilities in 19 countries, Oshkosh Corporation focuses on advancing vehicle and equipment technology to enhance safety and efficiency for its customers.
Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) reported its quarterly revenue for Q4 2024 as $2.62 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.42 billion by 8.47% and demonstrating year-over-year growth of 6%. The company boasted high fourth-quarter earnings for 2024, totaling adjusted EPS of $2.58 and beating a consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.40. According to Oshkosh Corporation CEO John Pfeifer, the company’s strong fourth-quarter results were driven by revenue growth of nearly 20% in the Vocational segment.
Former hedge fund manager Jim Cramer expressed surprise at Oshkosh Corporation’s solid earnings report for the quarter that ended December 31, 2024, and called it a “great American company”. During Q4 2024, Greenhaven Associates enhanced its position in Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) by 1% and held a stake worth over $242.63 million. The company accounted for 3.58% of Edgar Wachenheim’s portfolio.
At the end of Q3 2024, 33 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), showing improvement from 28 hedge funds in the previous quarter. These stakes hold a consolidated value of roughly $560.67 million.
Aristotle Capital Value Equity Strategy mentioned Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), a manufacturer of purpose‐built vehicles worldwide, was a main detractor during the quarter. Despite a decline in share price, the company has seen fundamental improvements and strong demand for its vehicles, including an increasing backlog of orders for fire trucks. As such, revenue for Oshkosh’s Vocational segment was up over 35% year‐over‐year. We believe this segment should be able to expand its margins, particularly as the company was awarded a contract to produce the “Next Generation Delivery Vehicle” for the U.S. Postal Service, which should begin to ramp up at the beginning of next year. This contract could generate in excess of $6 billion in revenue for the company. Furthermore, we continue to believe that Oshkosh is a high‐quality business that should be able to create innovative equipment and gain market share across segments. This includes its aerial work platforms as global safety standards increase around the world.”
Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) stands out as a solid investment due to its consistent profitability and impressive earnings growth. Over the past three years, the company has achieved a compound annual EPS growth of 19%, demonstrating its ability to generate sustained shareholder value. Additionally, its annual revenue increased by 11% to almost $11 billion, reinforcing its strong market position. With stable EBIT margins and a solid financial foundation, Oshkosh is a great stock for investors seeking long-term growth and stability.
Overall OSK ranks 7th on our list of Greenhaven Associates’ top stock picks. While we acknowledge the potential for OSK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than OSK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
