Broyhill Asset Management, a boutique investment firm, released its fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The past two years were mirror images of each other for equity investors. Global stocks increased by 22% in 2022 after declining by 18% the year before. The fourth quarter saw exceptionally high portfolio activity. Although Broyhill’s fully invested managed funds underperformed year-over-year broader equities benchmarks, they avoided problems during the falls in 2021 and 2022, and their relative performance is still well above any longer-term horizon. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Broyhill Asset Management featured stocks such as Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) is an aluminum packaging products supplier. On February 16, 2024, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) stock closed at $62.09 per share. One-month return of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) was 11.81%, and its shares gained 7.91% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) has a market capitalization of $19.577 billion.
Broyhill Asset Management stated the following regarding Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Recent investments in this bucket include Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Fidelity National Information Services, and Avantor. Founded in 1880, Ball Corporation makes aluminum packaging for drinks, food, and other products. While arguably not the most exciting business in the world, a glimpse at the company’s performance provides a valuable lesson: exciting business models are not a prerequisite for exciting performance. In fact, more often than not, we’d argue that those factors are inversely correlated. In the decade ending in 2020, Ball stock compounded at 20% annually, nearly 6% better than the market per year. Since then, performance has faltered, falling almost 60% from peak to trough, as the industry struggled with over-expansion, aggressive pricing, and other challenges. As interest rates soared, investors became increasingly focused on the leverage on Ball’s balance sheet, which had spiked as high as 7.6x following the acquisition of UK’s Rexam in 2016. The stock’s multiple collapsed from highs near 30x in FY20-FY21 to lows below 15x last year, prompting management to go on the offensive. In August, Ball announced the sale of its aerospace division to BAE Systems for 19.6x EBITDA and its intent to pay down debt to ~3x or the low end of its target range, along with ~$2 billion of share repurchases.”
A high-speed robotic arm carefully packing aluminum cans into a cardboard carton.
Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) was held by 28 hedge fund portfolios, down from 36 the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in another article and shared NZS Capital’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
Suggested Articles:
- 25 Most Valuable Tech Companies Outside The US
- Top 20 Companies With the Most Cash Reserves
- Jim Cramer’s Top 10 Stock Picks This Week
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
