Gruss Capital Management, led by Howard Guberman and Sean Dany, has disclosed in an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it reduced its position in Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:HNR). The filing revealed that Gruss Capital holds 1.76 million shares, representing a decrease from around 2.47 million shares the fund reported in its latest 13F filing. The stake is passive by nature, and represents 4.1% of the company’s common stock.
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New York-based Gruss Capital Management, formerly Gruss Asset Management, focuses on event-driven, risk-averse, and value-oriented investments. The hedge fund, which was founded by Howard Guberman, disclosed in its latest 13F for the reporting period of March 31, that its public equity portfolio contained $2.43 billion worth of equities. It had a diversified portfolio, consisting mainly of materials, finance, and consumer stocks. The fund’s top picks for the quarter were CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LTRPA), and Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY), which will also be discussed in this article.
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First, let’s take a look at Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:HNR), in which Gruss Capital decreased its position to 4.1% of the company’s common stock. Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:HNR) is a Texas-based, independent energy company, with a market cap of $72.02 million. It has principal operations in Venezuela, and exploration and exploitation assets in Gabon. For the first quarter of 2015, Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:HNR) booked a net loss of about $5.6 million, or $0.13 per share, versus a loss of $8.0 million, or $0.19 per share, for the same period last year. Shares of Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:HNR)’s stock have declined by 12.5% year-to-date (YTD). Another shareholder of the company is Glenn J. Krevlin’s Glenhill Advisors, which holds 1.09 million shares as of the end of March.
Now, we’ll talk about Gruss Capital’s top picks, starting with CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS). During the previous quarter, the fund slightly increased its position in CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) to 2.11 million shares valued at $130.1 million. CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), is a mass media company, with a market cap of $28.57 billion. The company’s revenues for the first quarter of 2015 decreased to $3.50 billion, compared to $3.57 billion for the same prior-year period. Operating income was $702 million, down from $791 million in the same quarter last year. EPS for the quarter stood at $0.78, versus $0.77 in the same quarter of 2014. CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS)’s stock has increased by nearly 3% year-to-date. Soroban Capital Partners, led by Eric W. Mandelblatt, holds 12.36 million shares of the company as of March 31.
