Guru Real Time Picks of the Week
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. It was a quiet week in guru trades but we did see a couple of trades coming from Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio) and John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio).
Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio)
Over the past week Hawkins and his fund Southeastern Asset Management moved around their holdings in two stocks – increasing his assets in TW Telecom (TWTC) and reducing his holdings in DineEquity (DIN).
On July 10, Hawkins reduced his holdings in DineEquity -83.8% by selling 1,102,000 shares of the company’s stock. The guru sold these shares at around the daily average price of $79.27 per share. Since his sell the price per share is trading down approximately -1% to $78.83 per share.
The guru now holds on to 213,000 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 1.11% of DineEquity’s shares outstanding as well as approximately 0.03% of Hawkins’ total assets managed.
Hawkins’ historical holding history as of the close of Q1:
DineEquity owns and operates two restaurant concepts: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry, and IHOP, in the family dining category of the restaurant industry.
DineEquity’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis reports that the company’s revenue per share has been in decline over the past five year, its Piotroski F-Score is high and its dividend yield is near a 5-year high. The analysis also notes that the company’s price is near a 10-year high.
There are eight gurus that maintain a position in DineEquity. Check out more information on their holding histories here.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
DineEquity has a market cap of $1.5 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $78.12 with a P/S ratio of 0.30 and a P/E ratio of 20.50. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 19.70% over the past ten years.
The guru at the same time increased his position in TW Telecom. Hawkins increased his holdings 40.3% by purchasing 4,366,541 shares of the company’s stock. He bought these shares at around the daily average price of $40.71 per share and today the price is trading up slightly to $40.78 per share.
Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio) now holds on to 15,201,344 shares of the company’s stock, representing 10.44% of TW Telecom’s shares outstanding and about 2.5% of the guru’s total assets managed.
Hawkins’ historical holding history:
TW Telecom is a national provider of managed network services, specializing in business ethernet, data networking, Internet access, voice, and network security services to enterprise organizations. The Company's revenue is derived from business communication services, including data, high-speed Internet access, network and voice services.
TW Telecom’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on TW Telecom reports that the company has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth, its operating margin is expanding , and its price is near a 10-year high.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
TW Telecom has a market cap of $5.64 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $40.90 with a P/E ratio of 186.00, a P/S ratio of 3.70 and a P/B ratio of 10.30. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 6% over the past ten years.
GuruFocus rated TW Telecom the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio)
Over the past week Paulson made an increase in his holdings in a copper company. The guru upped his holdings in NovaCopper 46.69% by purchasing a sizeable 2,760,870 shares of the company’s stock. The guru added these shares at near the average daily price of $1.05 per share, and since then the price per share has increased approximately 6% to $1.11 per share.
Paulson is now the largest guru shareholder of NovaCopper by a large margin. The guru holds on to 8,673,579 shares of the company’s stock, representing 16.36% of NovaCopper’s shares outstanding and a minor 0.08% of the guru’s total assets managed.
Paulson’s holding history as of Q1:
As shown in the chart above, this is actually the first move Paulson has made in the company since the first quarter of 2013.
NovaCopper is a mineral exploration company. The company engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in North America with a portfolio of mineral properties located in Alaska and British Columbia.
NovaCopper’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on NovaCopper reports that the company holds no debt, but that the company has had an operating loss over the past year.
John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio), Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) and Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) are the three guru shareholders of NovaCopper. Check out their guru trades page here.
NovaCopper has a market cap of $58.5 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $1.09 with a P/B ratio of 1.80.
Check out more real-time picks here along with more of John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio) and Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio) picks!
