During the first quarter, Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) purchased four new stocks and sold off 62 others. The company provides a wide variety of actively managed investment strategies for clients across the world.
On March 30, Columbia Management merged with Threadneedle Investments to form Columbia Threadneedle Investments. The legal name filed with the SEC, however, is Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio). The firm is the 11th largest manager of long-term mutual fund assets in the U.S., and the fifth largest manager of retail funds in the U.K.
Cimarex Energy (XEC, Financial)
Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) purchased 938,605 shares of Cimarex Energy for an average price of $107.30 during the quarter. The new holding has a 0.59% portfolio weighting.
Cimarex is an oil and gas exploration company that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Helmerich & Payne (HP). Its activities are conducted primarily in the Mid-Continent region and the Permian Basin.
Over the past year, the stock has risen 3%, and now trades at $123.17 with a P/E ratio of 21.2 and P/S ratio of 4.36. When compared to the Peter Lynch earnings line, the stock appears to be overvalued.
Net income in FY 2014 was $507 million, down from $565 million the year before. The graph below shows the net income trend over time.
Cimarex’s dividend yield is 0.52%, and has continuously increased their dividend since 2009. The payout ratio is 10%.
Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO, Financial)
The fund’s second-largest purchase during the quarter was 345,000 shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals for an average price of $112.06 per share.
Agios develops vaccines and medicines to treat cancer metabolism and inborn errors of metabolism. The stock price has risen 127% over the past year and currently trades at $93.65.
The company has not yet made a profit since 2011. In 2014, net income was $-53.50 million, which has been decreasing since 2012.
On the other hand, EBIT per share has been increasing since 2012, though earnings are still in the red. In 2014, EBIT per share was $-1.61.
Patriot National (PN, Financial)
Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) also purchased 1,375,885 shares of Patriot National, which traded for an average price of $13.21 during the quarter. The holding has a 0.1% portfolio weighting.
The company provides outsourcing solutions for within the workers’ compensation marketplace for insurance companies, employers, local governments, reinsurance captives.
Net income in 2014 was $10.4 million, a significant improvement from $-6.2 million the year before. However, over the trailing 12 months, net income is $-2.4 million.
Patriot’s operating margin is also improving over time. In 2014, the margin was 28.67%.
The fund bought 210,399 shares of MSCI for an average price of $55.79 per share. The company provides investment decision tools such as indexes, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and corporate governance products and services.
The stock price has increased 51% over the past year, and now trades at $62.00 with a P/E ratio of 25.7 and P/S ratio of 7.07.
Net income has risen steadily over the years, increasing by 28.41% over the past five years. In 2014, net income reported at $284.1 million.
The current dividend yield is 0.58%, while the payout ratio is 21%. MSCI’s balance sheet is also improving, with a current ratio of 1.63, compared to 1.22 the year before.
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