According to a recent Schedule 13D form filed with the SEC, Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital owns 3.21 million shares of Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE:MW), which represent 6.6% of the company’s outstanding common stock. This marks a decrease to Eminence Capital’s equity holding in Men’s Wearhouse, which is down 25% from the stake of 4.28 million shares the fund reported ownership of in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC.
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Eminence Capital LLC is a New York-based hedge fund founded by its current chairman, Ricky Sandler, in January 1999. At the age of 25, Ricky Sandler co-founded Fusion Partners with one of his former colleagues at Morris Mark, Wayne Cooperman (Leon Cooperman’s son). This partnership, which started in 1994, was initially financed with $28 million and the fund had generated a net annualized return of 31% by 1998, reaching a value of $350 million when the two decided to dissolve the partnership because of their dissimilar investment philosophies. Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital has managed to deliver a 13% net annual compounded return since its inception in spite of its slump of 19% during the financial crisis of 2008. At the end of the most recent quarter, the value of Eminence Capital’s public equity portfolio stood at $6.46 billion. At the same time, the largest equity stakes of the hedge fund include Fossil Group Inc. (NASDAQ:FOSL) and GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNC), with the fund owning 3.15 million shares valued at $260.07 million in the former and 4.56 million shares valued at $223.77 million in the latter.
Men’s Wearhouse, founded by George Zimmer in 1973, is one the largest men’s dress clothes retailers in the United States. If you’re looking for an attractive stock with the wind at its back, this company has strong momentum in 2015, increasing more than 40% since the beginning of the current year, and could push even higher in the months ahead. This week, Men’s Wearhouse announced a 10-year deal with Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) to operate men’s tuxedo rental shops inside 300 Macy’s stores. It is expected that the leading provider of tuxedo rental products and services will be running 17 tuxedo shops by autumn of this year, while the remaining ones will be open by the fall of 2016. The two companies will also cooperate in developing a digital tuxedo rental shop on macys.com. Therefore, the current outlook is strong for the company, but of big interest should be the long-term potential from the above-mentioned cooperation that will most probably unlock new revenue streams for the company.
Moreover, on June 10, Men’s Wearhouse announced its partnership with Kenneth Cole to bring a brand-new special collection of men’s custom-made clothing under the label “AWEARNESS Kenneth Cole”. A part of the revenues generated from the sale of these products will serve as a donation towards helping veterans assimilate back into civilian life and into the workplace. The Chief Executive Officer of Men’s Wearhouse, Doug Ewert, claimed that this partnership is part of the company’s wider goal of giving back to the communities in which the company serves. Therefore, the cooperation will not only boost the company’s revenues, but will also increase the awareness and brand image of Men’s Wearhouse throughout the United States.
Finally, we will quickly go through the company’s financial performance during the most up-to-date fiscal quarter. Men’s Wearhouse has delivered better-than-expected financial results for the fiscal first quarter of 2015 ending on May 2, reporting revenue of $885.1 million for the quarter. At the same time, the retail chain reported a net income of $10.4 million or $0.21 per share, after reporting a loss for the same period a year ago. Adjusted for costs related to mergers and acquisitions and non-recurring costs, earnings came in at $0.54 per share, beating the analysts’ estimates of $0.52 per share and sending shares up by 5% in trading today. Having said that, it’s quite clear that the company is on a good run and the stock might have more upward momentum left, so it’s worth keeping a close eye on Men’s Wearhouse. In the meantime, some of the largest investors in Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE:MW) from our database include Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital and Frank Brosens’ Taconic Capital, owning 2.26 million shares and 1.66 million shares, respectively.
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