According to a 13D form recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital disclosed holding 1.33 million shares of Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE). The holding represents 19.03% of the company’s outstanding common stock and marks an increase of 78% from its last reported position in early June. The stake was acquired through the firm’s affiliated funds including Debello Investors LLC, Wexford Focused Investors LLC, and Wexford Spectrum Investors LLC, in three transactions between June 18 and 22, at a price in the $18.90 to $19.60 range.
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Davidson received his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and co-founded Wexford in 1994. Currently he serves as the firm’s Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. The investment firm manages three hedge funds and a series of private equity funds. Regulatory assets under Wexford’s management amount to $5 billion, while the market value of its public portfolio stood at $343.26 million at the end of March, down from $519.17 million at the end of the previous quarter. The energy sector represented 42% of the holdings. The firm initiated 33 new positions during the first quarter, the most notable of which were in EnLink Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:ENLK), Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE:XHR) , and Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG). We will take a closer look at these in a moment.
Follow Charles Davidson And Joseph Jacobs's Wexford Capital
Wexford has held a position in Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE) since the first quarter of 2014. The stock of the $136.08 million operator of barbeque restaurants has cratered by 23.6% so far this year amid lacklustre first quarter financial results. In comparison, the restaurants industry is up by 12.4% during the same period. The bad weather cast a dent in the same-store sales of the company-owned locations, which dove by 4.9% during the first three months of the year. Recently, Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE) announced the resignation of its CEO Ed Rensi. The restaurant company is in the midst of a change in its business model to a 90% franchise-owned company, up from 63% at the end of the first quarter. Jonathan Lennon‘s Pleasant Lake Partners is the largest stockholder of Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE) within our database, holding some 923,400 shares valued at $26.32 million.
