ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Sustainability Leaders Strategy” first quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy underperformed its Russell 3000 Index benchmark during the first quarter. On an absolute basis, the Strategy had gains in five of 10 sectors in which it was invested (out of 11 sectors total). You can view the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a peek at their top bets for 2021.
ClearBridge Investments, in its Q1 2021 investor letter, mentioned Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), and shared their insights on the company. Owens Corning is a Toledo, Ohio-based insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites producer that currently has a $10.9 billion market capitalization. Since the beginning of the year, OC delivered a 38.60% return, extending its 12-month gains to 79.73%. As of June 04, 2021, the stock closed at $105.00 per share.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments has to say about Owens Corning in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“Roofer and insulator Owens Corning, also a ClearBridge holding, is helping make the building sector more sustainable. The company operates across 33 countries and has positive environmental impact primarily through its insulation business. In the EU, for example, buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of GHG emissions. New buildings consume only half of the energy of those built over 20 years ago, according to the company. But as 85% of the buildings in the EU are older than 20 years, and 85%–95% of them are expected to still be standing in 2050, there is need for a massive renovation. Roughly 35 million buildings in the EU will need to be renovated by 2030, according to the company.
Properly insulated homes lower energy intensity and thus the overall carbon footprint of a home. According to Owens Corning,
insulation intensity of new homes is on the rise, driven in part by state and municipal rules requiring certain levels of insulation, but also by consumer preference for reducing energy consumption and being greener in the home. The company is helping meet this demand with insulation products that are lighter weight yet deliver stronger performance than higher-weight/higher-density products. The insight that greater density does not necessarily mean better performance has allowed the company to reduce shipping weight and fuel.Owens Corning’s roofing business also features shingles that use a highly reflective granule technology to reflect the sun, keep roofs cooler and lower air conditioning energy demand. Its composites business also counts wind turbines as a major end use, another positive for sustainability goals.
As part of its 2030 Sustainability Goals, Owens Corning is also looking to grow a circular economy model in which virgin raw materials, waste, energy and emissions are minimized through intelligent design, renewable and recycled input and energy-efficient production.”
Our calculations show that Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) does not belong in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As of the end of the first quarter of 2021, Owens Corning was in 30 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 38 funds in the fourth quarter of 2020. OC delivered a 29.92% return in the past 3 months.
The top 10 stocks among hedge funds returned 231.2% between 2015 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 Index ETFs by more than 126 percentage points. We know it sounds unbelievable. You have been dismissing our articles about top hedge fund stocks mostly because you were fed biased information by other media outlets about hedge funds’ poor performance. You could have doubled the size of your nest egg by investing in the top hedge fund stocks instead of dumb S&P 500 ETFs. Here you can watch our video about the top 5 hedge fund stocks right now. All of these stocks had positive returns in 2020.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
