Prem Watsa Increases NYT and Two Others

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May 15, 2013
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"Canada’s Warren Buffett,” Prem Watsa, increased Fairfax’s Financial Holdings’ (TSX:FFH) positions in three stocks in the first quarter, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks data. Watsa’s portfolio currently holds 42 stocks and is valued at $2.68 billion. In the most recent quarter, Watsa increased his position in Ultra Petroleum Corp. (UPL, Financial), Novadaq Technologies (NVDQ, Financial) and New York Times Company (NYT, Financial).

1. Ultra Petroleum (UPL)

Watsa increased his position in UPL by 110.06% in the first quarter. Watsa bought 17,500 shares at an average price of $18.22. The holding now has a 0.03% portfolio weighting.



Fairfax Financial now owns 33,400 shares of Ultra Petroleum Corp.

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Ultra Petroleum is an independent exploration and production company focused on developing its long-life natural gas reserves in the Green River Basin of Wyoming and is in the early exploration and development stages in the Appalachian Basin of Pennsylvania. The company had 152,920,815 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2013.

Ultra Petroleum has a market cap of $3.19 billion; its shares were traded at $21.53 with a P/S ratio of 4.05.

2. Novadaq Technologies (NVDQ)

Watsa increased Fairfax’s position in Novadaq Technologies by 17.92% in the first quarter. Watsa added 358,487 shares at an average price of $9.76 per share. Fairfax now owns 2,358,487 shares of Novadaq. The holding is now 0.87% of Fairfax’s assets managed.



Since his first quarter buys, the share price has gained 42% from the average purchase price.

Novadaq Technologies develops, manufactures and markets real-time fluorescence imaging technology products that are designed for use by surgeons in the operating room and other clinical settings where open, minimally invasive or interventional surgical procedures are performed.

Novadaq has a market cap of $578.9 million; its shares were traded at $13.88 with a P/S ratio of 21.19 and a P/B ratio of 18.60. Novadaq had an annual average revenue growth of 7.5% over the past five years.

3. New York Times Company (NYT)

In the first quarter, Watsa bought 5,000 shares of NYT — representing an 11.11% increase in Fairfax’s holdings of the company. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.14 per share. Fairfax now owns 50,000 shares of the New York Times.



Since Watsa’s most recent buy, the share price has increased 6.5%.

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The New York Times is a global, multimedia news and information company that currently includes newspapers, digital businesses and other investments. New York Times classifies its businesses based on its operating strategies into two segments, the News Media Group and the About Group.

New York Times has a market cap of $1.44 billion; its shares are traded at around $9.83 with a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a P/S ratio of 0.75. New York Times had an annual average earnings growth of 12% over the past five years.

See Prem Watsa’s portfolio here. Also look at Prem Watsa’s Undervalued Stocks and Top Growth Companies.