The following information is a highlight of the real-time guru activity we saw this week. To view more information on these gurus, check out their guru portfolios. The “Real Time Picks” reports the stock purchases and sells that Gurus have made within the prior two weeks. If a Guru makes a purchase or sell of a company in which they own a greater-than 5% stake, SEC regulations require them to report their transaction within two days. This week we saw notable increases in Real Time activity from Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Edward Lampert (Trades, Portfolio) .
Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio)
Over the past week Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) made a massive increase to his position in DeVry Education Group (DV). The guru upped his stake 11484.73% on Feb. 19 by purchasing a total of 3,145,783 shares of the company’s stock. The guru bought these shares for approximately $37.39 per share, and since then the price per share has increased roughly 1% to $37.66 per share.
Cohen now holds on to 3,173,174 shares of the company’s stock, representing approximately 5.5% of the company’s shares outstanding. Cohen has held an off and on again position in DeVry since the third quarter of 2009.
Cohen’s historical holding history as of the close of the fourth quarter:
DeVry is a global provider of educational services and the parent organization of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Becker Professional Education, Chamberlain College of Nursing, DeVry University and many others. These institutions offer a variety of programs in business, healthcare, technology, accounting and finance.
DeVry’s historical revenue and net income:
DeVry released its second quarter 2014 results on Feb. 4, which reported:
· Total revenues down 1.9% to $491.3 million.
· Medical and Healthcare and International and Professional Education segment revenues grew 13.5% and 16.6% respectively.
· Reported net income of $48.2 million, down from $50.3 million last year.
· Diluted EPS of $0.74, down from $0.78 per share last year.
The company announced on Feb. 12 that its subsidiary, Becker Professional Education, had aligned with the Department of Defense to offer certain CPA and CPE courses which will fulfill the Department of Defense’s financial management certification requirements.
The analysis on DeVry reports that the company’s revenue has been in decline over the past year, its dividend yield is at a 1-year low and that the company’s price is near a 2-year high.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
As of the close of the fourth quarter 17 gurus that held a position in
DeVry has a market cap of $2.59 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $40.77 with a P/E ratio of 40.90, a P/S ratio of 1.30 and a P/B ratio of 1.60. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 18.60% over the past ten years.
GuruFocus rated DeVry the business predictability rank of 4-star.
Edward Lampert (Trades, Portfolio)
Over the past week Edward Lampert (Trades, Portfolio) made another reduction in his holdings on AutoNation (AN). On Feb. 20, Lampert cut his holdings -7.54% by selling 1,189,155 shares of the company’s stock. He sold these at around the daily average price of $42.36 per share, and since then the price per share is trading slightly lower at $42.34 per share.
Lampert now holds on to 14,576,088 shares of the company’s stock, representing 12.01% of the company’s shares outstanding. Despite his strong selling in the company, AutoNation is still Lampert’s second largest holding.
Edward Lampert (Trades, Portfolio)’s historical holdings as of the close of the fourth quarter:
AutoNation is an automotive retailer in the U.S., predominately in metropolitan markets. The company offers a range of automotive products and services, including new vehicles, used vehicles and insurance products.
AutoNation’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on AutoNation reports that the company has issued $592.6 million of debt over the past three years, the company’s price is near a 10-year high and its P/B ratio is near a 1-year low.
AutoNation reported its fourth quarter and full-year results last month which highlighted:
- Fourth quarter EPS of $0.83, up 24% from last year.
- GAAP EPS of $0.89, up 33% from last year.
- Total revenue of $4.5 billion, up 8%.
- Full year revenue of $17.5 billion, up 12% from last year.
- Full year adjusted EPS of $2.98, up 17% from 2012.
As of the close of the fourth quarter there were ten gurus that held a position in AutoNation. Check out their holdings here.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
AutoNation has a market cap of $6.06 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $50.92 with a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/S ratio of 0.40 and a P/B ratio of 2.90. AutoNation had an annual average earnings growth of 25.80%.
Check out more guru real time picks here.
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