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.
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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.
Moving on to Wexford’s other recent new picks, the firm’s bet in the energy sector, EnLink Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:ENLK), was the largest among the group, and represented 13.8% of the fund’s portfolio. The holding comprised some 1.93 million shares valued at $47.63 million. The $6.22 billion operator in the midstream industry has also slumped year-to-date, by over 16%. However, the hedge fund interest in EnLink Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:ENLK) among those that we track, has increased over the last quarter, as ten firms had invested a total of $205.92 million in the company by the end of March, as compared to seven funds with $42.17 million in holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser‘s Magnetar Capital is the largest among these, owning 5.2 million shares valued at $128.65 million.
Wexford acquired about 1.10 million shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE:XHR) valued at $24.98 million during the first quarter. The $2.67 billion REIT, which is focused on the lodging sector, has appreciated by nearly 16% since its IPO in February. Jonathan Lennon’s Pleasant Lake Partners holds some 321,400 shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE:XHR) valued at $7.31 million.
A total of 445,850 shares of Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG) valued at $10.76 million were acquired by Wexford during the first quarter. The holding represented about 3.13% of the fund’s portfolio. The $15 billion retail bank holding company is another high performer for the fund, as its stock is up by 13.4% so far this year. The number of hedge funds invested in the company increased massively during the first quarter, to 76, compared to 30 firms at the end of the previous quarter which had positions. David Einhorn‘s Greenlight Capital is the largest stockholder of Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG) among these, with 12.61 million shares valued at $304.33 million.
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