Murray Stahl Reduces Most Valuable Stakes in First Quarter

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Jun 17, 2015
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Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) is chairman of Horizon Asset Management, Inc., the mutual fund he co-founded 30 years ago. Horizon has a record of producing positive returns for its clients. The return of 4.3% in the trying investment environment of 2014 was considerably lower than Horizon’s returns in 2013 and 2012, which were well into double figures.

Stahl reduced each of his 10 most valuable stakes in the first quarter. He sold 323,780 shares of his most valuable holding, Howard Hughes Corp (HHC, Financial), a real estate development and management company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, for an average price of $137.97 per share. The transaction had a -0.57% on Stahl’s portfolio.

Howard Hughes Corp has a market cap of $5.74 billion and an enterprise value of $7.37 billion. It has a Price/Book of 2.7 and a Price/Sales of 8.3. Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio) and Whitney Tilson (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Howard Hughes Corp in their portfolios. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.

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Stahl also sold 369,102 shares of his second-most valuable stake, Jarden Corp (JAH, Financial), a Boca Raton, Florida-based consumer goods provider, for an average price of $50.46 per share. The sale had a -0.24% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.

Jarden has a market cap of $10.14 billion and an enterprise value of $14.42 billion. It has a P/E of 54.3, a Price/Book of 4.1 and a Price/Sales of 1.2. Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Jarden in their portfolios. Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in the first quarter.

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Stahl sold 281,925 shares of his third-most valuable stake, Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP, Financial), a New York-based holding company, for an average price of $94.42 per share. The deal had a -0.35% impact on his portfolio.

Icahn Enterprises has a market cap of $10.77 billion and an enterprise value of $12.52 billion. It has a Price/Book of 2.0 and a Price/Sales of 0.6. Chairman of the Board Carl Icahn (Trades, Portfolio) is the company’s majority stockholder. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in the first quarter.

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Stahl sold 1,837,927 shares of his fourth-most valuable holding, Wendy's Co (WEN, Financial), the Dublin, Ohio-based holding company for fast food chain Wendy's, for an average price of $10.69 per share. The transaction had a -0.22% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.

Wendy’s Co has a market cap of $4.13 billion and an enterprise value of $5.38 billion. It has a P/E of 41.7, a Price/Book of 2.4 and a Price/Sales of 2.1. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Robert Olstein (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Wendy’s in their portfolios. Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.

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The rest of Stahl’s 10 most valuable stakes are AutoNation Inc (AN, Financial), Liberty Media Corporation (LMCK, Financial), Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc (DWA, Financial), Starz (STRZA, Financial), Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAM, Financial) and Texas Pacific Land Trust (TPL, Financial).

Stahl sold out 21 stakes in his portfolio. The sale with the greatest impact on his portfolio was Stahl’s sale of his stake in Brookfield Residential Properties Inc (BRP, Financial), a Canadian land developer and homebuilder. Stahl sold his 4,088,962-share stake in Brookfield Residential Properties for an average price of $24.16 per share. The sale had a -1.3% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.

Brookfield has a market cap of $2.8 billion and an enterprise value of $4.03 billion. It has a P/E of 12.3, a Price/Book of 1.8 and a Price/Sales of 2.0. Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) also sold their stakes in the first quarter.

New buys and additions

Stahl added to more than 100 existing stakes in the first quarter. The addition with the greatest impact on his portfolio was Stahl’s purchase of 441.769 shares of Liberty Broadband Corp (LBRDK), a cable operator, for an average price of $50.65 per share. The purchase had a 0.35% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.

Liberty Broadband has a market cap of $5.37 billion and an enterprise value of $5.5 billion. It has a Price/Book of 1.7 and a Price/Sales of 73.1. Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio), Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Liberty Broadband in their portfolios.

Other stakes to which Stahl added in the first quarter included TRI Pointe Homes Inc (TPH), Royal Gold Inc (RGLD), Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA) and Graham Holdings Co (GHC).

Stahl also bought 21 new stakes in the first quarter. The purchase with the greatest impact on Stahl’s portfolio was his acquisition of 704,399 shares of LSB Industries Inc (LXU), an Oklahoma City-based manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products as well as chemical products, for an average price of $35.55 per share. The purchase had a 0.4% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.

LSB Industries has a market cap of $969.3 million and an enterprise value of $1.25 billion. It has a P/E of 74.6, a Price/Book of 2.1 and a Price/Sales of 1.4. Third Avenue Management (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of LSB Industries in their portfolios. John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in the first quarter.

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Other new stakes in Stahl’s portfolio include New Media Investment Group Inc. (NEWM), Gannett Co Inc (GCI) and Journal Communications Inc (JRN).

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