The most valuable position in Zebra Capital Management’s portfolio at the end of Q4 2018 was the one in Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX), a company that provides professional services and a plethora of products to small enterprises in order to help them improve their businesses. The company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, and it is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43. At the end of the fourth quarter, Zebra Capital Management’s position in the company counted 35,619 shares, with a value of $1.37 million, occupying 0.84% of its diversified equity portfolio. In its last financial report for the fourth quarter of 2018, Deluxe Corp reported revenue of $524.7 million, compared to revenue of $494.9 million for the same quarter in 2017; it also disclosed adjusted earnings per share of $1.54, versus EPS of $1.40 in the corresponding quarter of 2017. Over the last six months, the company’s stock lost 21.9%, and on March 1st it had a closing price of $46.21. Zebra Capital Management had its second largest position at the end of December 2018 in Universal Forest Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI), an American company that produces wood and wood-alternative products across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The fund’s position in the company consisted of 52,305 shares, which carried a value of $1.36 million. Universal Forest Products has a market cap of $1.89 billion, trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71. On March 1st, its stock had a closing price of $31.10.
Among 52 new positions Zebra Capital Management had attained in the fourth quarter of 2018, the largest one was in Entegris Inc (NASDAQ:ENTG), as it was worth $1.02 million, on the account of 36,572 shares. Entegris is a producer of various products and systems, which have a role of cleaning and preserving essential materials that are used in the semiconductor device manufacturing process. For the fourth quarter of 2018, Entegris disclosed revenue of $401.6 million, which represented an increase of 15% on a year to year basis, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.47, versus non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.42 in the Q4 of 2017. Year-to-date, the company’s stock gained 22.2%, and on March 1st it had a closing price of $36.22. Entegris carries a market value of $4.89 billion, trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42. Recently, Seaport Global Securities downgraded its rating of the stock to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’, and a month earlier Loop Capital set a price target of $51.00 with ‘Buy’ rating on it. The second largest position Zebra Capital Management initiated during the fourth quarter of 2018 was in National General Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:NGHC). The fund obtained 36,417 shares National General Holdings’ shares, which were worth around $882,000. This is a specialty personal lines insurance holding company with a market cap of $2.94 billion. Over the last 12 months, the company’s stock gained 6.9% and on March 1st it had a closing price of $26.05. A week ago, JMP Securities restated its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a price target of $33.00, and Goldman Sachs Group proposed ‘Neutral’ rating with a price target of $27.00.
During the fourth quarter of 2018, Zebra Capital Management dumped 89 stocks from its diversified equity portfolio. Among those positions that were completely sold out, the biggest ones were in Maxar Technologies Inc (NYSE:MAXR), Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD), and Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO). The fund previously held 27,499 Maxar Technologies’ shares, which carried a value of $909,000, and 39,565 Starwood Property Trust’s shares, which were worth around $851,000. In Patterson Companies, Zebra Capital Management held a stake worth $688,000, on the account of 28,159 shares outstanding.
Disclosure: None
This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
