Priceline, Alphabet, Hanes: Concourse Capital Was Loading Up On These 5 Stocks in Q2

Concourse Capital Management is an Atlanta-based long/short equity hedge fund founded by Joseph Mathias in 2008. Mr. Mathias holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania and prior to founding Concourse served as Vice President of Investments at Thomas E. Claugus‘ GMT Capital between 2002 and 2008. According to Concourse Capital Management’s most recent Form ADV, it had $219 million in regulatory assets under management (AUM) as of March 29.

The fund recently submitted its 13F filing with the SEC for the reporting period of June 30, revealing a U.S. equity portfolio worth $161 million. The latest filing shows that Concourse’s equity portfolio was fairly diversified, with long positions in 64 stocks, though it was also top-heavy, with its top-ten holdings amassing over half the portfolio’s value. The filing also revealed that the fund had high exposure to the consumer discretionary and information technology sectors, with stocks from those sectors accounting for 58% and 23% of the value of its equity portfolio respectively. In this article we’ll take a look at five companies whose shares the fund was loading up on during the second quarter and discuss how those stocks have performed so far in 2016.

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#5. Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI)

 – Shares Owned by Concourse Capital Management (as of June 30): 93,127

 – Value of Holding (as of June 30): $2.34 Million

Let’s begin with Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI), in which Concourse Capital Management initiated a stake during the second quarter. Hanesbrands’ stock has been on a gradual decline ever since undergoing a four-for-one stock split last March and is currently trading down by 14% year-to-date. Two weeks after completing its acquisition of Champions Europe on July 15, the company announced that it had completed its $800 million all-cash acquisition of Pacific Brands Limited, which is expected to deliver an after-tax internal rate of return in the mid-teens. On August 2, Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) reported its second quarter earnings, declaring EPS of $0.51 on revenue of $1.47 billion, close to analysts’ estimates. A day after the earnings release, analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating and $37 price target on the stock. Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners sold off its stake in the company during the second quarter, which had consisted of 21,773 shares on March 31.

#4. Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO)

 – Shares Owned by Concourse Capital Management (as of June 30): 167,547

 – Value of Holding (as of June 30): $2.54 Million

Concourse Capital Management will be patting itself on the back for increasing its stake in Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO) by 29% during the second quarter, as shares of the investment management firm have appreciated by over 16.23% so far in the third quarter. Despite such a significant short-term rally, Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO)’s stock still sports an attractive annual dividend yield of 7.10%. On August 3, Reuters reported that a consortium of investors led by Apollo Global Management had emerged as the front-runner for Anglo American’s Australian met coal mines, which have been valued at around $1.5 billion. Apollo Global reported its second quarter results on the same day and managed to beat analysts’ estimates of EPS of $0.20 on revenue of $350.06 million, turning in EPS of $0.39 on revenue of $351.73 million. Jonathan Lourie and Stuart Fiertz’s Cheyne Capital also boosted its stake in Apollo Global Management during the second quarter, by 57% to 97,100 shares.

We’ll check out three more stocks that Concourse was buying during the second quarter on the next page.