Two major funds disclosed important stock sales yesterday. On the one hand, Matthew Drapkin and Steven R. Becker’s Becker Drapkin Management disposed of an aggregate of 3,000 put options relating to 300,000 shares of PowerSecure International, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWR)’s Common Stock, for an aggregate price of $142,500. The options have an exercise price of $7.50 and expire on December 20, 2014. The fund now owns 1.39 million shares of Common Stock, which account for 6.3% of the company’s shares outstanding. On the other hand, Michael Johnston’s Steelhead Partners got rid of 48,700 shares of Resolute Forest Products Inc (NYSE:RFP)’s Common Stock, for prices ranging from $15.68 per share, to $16.43 per share. Following these transactions, the fund owns 12.25 million shares of Common Stock, which account for more than 10% of the company’s outstanding stock.
PowerSecure International, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWR) is a $234.45 million market cap provider of products and services to electric utilities and to their commercial, institutional, and industrial customers in the United States. Becker Drapkin Management has been quite active in this company over the third quarter of the year; the fund filed several amended 13D forms disclosing changes in its position. In the latest one (dated October 15), the fund acknowledged holding 1.39 million shares of Common Stock. This implies a reduction in relation to the 1.41 million shares declared in mid-August, but an increase in relation to the 1.35 million held by the end of the second quarter of 2014.
According to our records, Becker Drapkin Management is the largest institutional shareholder at PowerSecure International, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWR), trailed by Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners, which started a position in the company over the second quarter, with 320,000 shares of Common Stock, worth more than $3 million.
Resolute Forest Products Inc (NYSE:RFP) is a $1.63 billion market cap global forest products company that owns or operates pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Its segments include newsprint, coated papers, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. As stated above, Steelhead Partners sold, over the past few days, 48,700 shares, and now owns 12.25 million shares of the company, worth about $211 million at current stock prices. The fund has been trimming its exposure for a while now; it held 12.58 million shares by the end of the first half of the year.
Only one institutional investor, amongst those we track, holds a larger stake in Resolute Forest Products Inc (NYSE:RFP) than Steelhead Partners. Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings last disclosed ownership of more than 29 million shares, by the end of the second quarter.
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any stocks or funds mentioned
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