Both Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) made increases into previously held stocks over the past week. Robbins added to his already sizeable stake in Carter’s Inc (CRI, Financial) and Gabelli added to his consistently growing stake in Layne Christensen Co. (LAYN, Financial). Both of these buys come as their respective share prices have recently fallen close to their 52-week lows.
Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio)
As GuruFocus Real Time Picks reports, Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio) upped his holdings in the children’s clothing company Carter’s on July 10. The guru upped his position 136.42% by purchasing 2,119,779 shares of the company’s stock. He purchased these shares at around the estimated average daily price of $69.50 per share. Since then the price per share has dropped approximately -2% to $68.14 per share.
Robbins now owns 3,673,608 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 6.2% of the company’s shares outstanding and approximately 1.6% of Robbins’ total assets managed. This recent buy makes Robbins the second largest guru shareholder following Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio)’s Tiger Global Management.
Robbins’ historical holdings of Carter’s Inc:
Carter’s Inc. is a branded marketer in the United States of apparel exclusively for babies and young children. It owns two brand names in the children's apparel industry, Carter's and OshKosh.
Carter’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on Carter’s reports that the company’s operating margin has been in a 5-year decline, its dividend yield is close to a 2-year high and its P/S ratio is near a 2-year low.
There are currently ten gurus that hold a position in Carter’s. Check out their holding histories here.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
Carter’s has a market cap of $3.69 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $68.71 with a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/S ratio of 1.40 and a P/B ratio of 5.00. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 14.70% over the past ten years.
Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio)
Over the past week Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) added to his stake in the water management company Layne Christensen. The guru upped his holdings 9.2% by purchasing 166,756 shares of the company’s stock. The guru added these shares at around the daily average price of $11.93 per share, and since then the price per share is trading up approximately 4% to $12.41 per share.
Gabelli now owns 1,980,153 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 9.96% of the company’s shares outstanding as well as approximately 0.27% of Gabelli’s total assets managed.
As can be seen in the chart below, Gabelli has been consistently increasing his position in Layne since 2011 excluding the first quarter when he sold approximately 60,000 shares.
Gabelli’s historical holding history:
Layne is a global water management, construction and drilling company, providing solutions to the world of essential natural resources — water, mineral and energy. The company provides sustainable products and services with an “enduring commitment to safety, excellence and integrity.”
Layne Christensen’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on Layne Christensen reports that the company has issued $102.33 million of debt over the past three years, its revenue has been in decline over the past year and the company had operating loss over the past three years.
The company’s first quarter results were reported mid-June and they highlighted:
- Revenue of $191.2 million, down from $226.4 million last year.
- Backlog rose 12.1% to $559.7 million
- Net loss of $27.7 million, or $(1.41) per share
- As of April 30, cash and cash equivalents were $21.2 million.
Layne Christensen also recently announced that its President and CEO, Rene Robichaud, along with its board of directors decided upon a leadership transition in order to cut costs and reroute the company. In compliance with this Robichaud resigned his role as President and CEO immediately, and Layne’s non-executive Chairman of the Board, David Brown, will be acting as interim CEO until the company finds a suitable successor.
Layne Christensen has a market cap of $246.7 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $12.44 with a P/S ratio of 0.30 and a P/B ratio of 1.20.
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