The hedge fund Ashmore Group in its last quarterly 13F reported a total value of its portfolio of $310 million, with a decrease of 36.77% since the previous quarter. During Q2 2015, the firm bought 16 new stocks and increased eight of its existing stakes. The following are the most heavily weighted buys during the quarter.
It bought shares of Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (SIMO) with an impact of 4.75% on its portfolio. It is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets, high-performance, low-power semiconductor solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other customers in the mobile storage and mobile communications markets. The company's products are used in smartphones, tablets, notebooks, desktop PCs and industrial and commercial applications.
The company has a profitability and growth rating of8Â out of 10 with positive returns (ROE 19.80%, ROA 16.21%) that are outperforming 87% of the Global Semiconductors industry. Financial strength has a rating of 9 out of 10 and the company is out of debt.
The price of the stock has risen by 413% during the last five years, did not face any change year to date and has dropped by 11% during the last 12 months. The stock is now -32.23% from its 52-week high and +27.34% from its 52-week low.
During the second quarter, net sales increased 8% quarter-over-quarter and operating margin (non-GAAP) increased to 24.8% from 24.1% in 1Q15, while gross margin (non-GAAP) decreased to 51.0% from 52.0% in 1Q15.
During the last quarter, the hedge fund Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought shares of the company, and now the main shareholder is Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.30% of outstanding shares, followed by Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.17% and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.10%.
It bought shares of China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. (MY) with an impact of 1.61% on its portfolio. The company is a wind turbine manufacturer in China, focusing on designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing megawatt-class wind turbines and the provision of related maintenance services in China and India. Its current products consist of basic models of wind turbines with a rated power capacity of 1.5MW, wind turbines with a rated power capacity of 2.0MW, and 2.5/3.0MW SCD wind turbines.
MY has a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10 with easy but positive returns, ROE 7.55% and ROA 2.12% that are underperforming 61% of the Global Diversified Industrials industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with a slightly positive cash to debt of 1.01 that is averaging the sector.
The price of the stock has dropped by 85% during the last five years, by 7% year to date, by 34% during the last 12 months, and is now -46.34% from its 52-week high and +10.22% from its 52-week low.
During the second quarter, net profit grew by more than four times year-over-year, and the company has an ample backlog which is expected to help the company achieve better financial results going forward. Also, gross margin was 15.7%, compared to 13.2% in the second quarter of 2014.
The stock is not held by any guru and the last trade was in Q4 2013 when Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) sold out his stake.
The fund bought shares of YY Inc. (YY) with an impact of 1.08% on its portfolio. It is a social communication platform that engages users in real-time online group activities through voice, text and video. Its platforms consist of YY Client, the YY.com and Duowan.com web portals and Mobile YY.Â
YY has a profitability and growth rating of 5 out of 10 with strong returns and strong profitability. ROE is 45.10%, ROA is 18.86% and these ratios are outperforming 89% of the Global Internet Content & Information industry. It has also very strong margins: operating margin of 24.63% and net-margin of 25.17% are outperforming the sector as well. The company’s financial strength has a rating of 9 out of 10, but cash to debt of 0.27 is very weak and is ranked lower than 90% of its competitors.
The price of the stock has dropped by 383% during the last five years, by 17% year to date, by 41% during the last 12 months, and is now -43.33% from its 52-week high and +8.12% from its 52-week low.
The company represented a revenue growth rate of 61.5% year-over-year. Revenues were 3% above estimates and 6% above the previous guidance from the company. Earnings per share of $0.84 were 2.3% above analysts estimates and about 5% above consensus. During the second quarter, gross margin landed at 38.6% and for full-year 2015 it is expected YY’s gross margin to land at 39.2%. In 2016, they expect it to decline to 38%.
The main shareholder of the company is Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.66% of outstanding shares, followed by George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.01%.
It increased its stake in Infosys Ltd. (INFY) by 324%. The company designs and delivers IT-enabled business solutions to its clients. It provides technology, business consulting, outsourcing and engineering services to help clients in over 30 countries.
Infosys has a very strong profitability. It has positive returns (ROE 24.35%, ROA 19.89%) that are outperforming 87% of the Global Information Technology Services industry. Margins are positive as well, with operating margin of 25.61% and net-margin of 22.71%. Financial strength has a perfect rating of 10 and the company is out of debt. Financial strength is ranked better than 97% of the company’s competitors.
The price of the stock has risen by 15% during the last five years, by 9% year to date and by 14% during the last 12 months; it is now -6.38% from its 52-week high and +19.42% from its 52-week low.
The company reported Q1 revenue growth of 4.5% quarter-over-quarter, the highest in the past 15 quarters, and volume growth of 5.4% quarter-over-quarter, the highest in 19 quarters. During the last quarter, the company signed six large deals with TCV of $688 million.
The main shareholder is Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.95% of outstanding shares, followed by Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.11% and John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04%.
It increased its stake in Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico SAB (BSMX) by 55%. It is a financial holding company, and through its subsidiaries, provides financial and related services in Mexico, including retail and commercial banking, securities underwriting and brokerage and custody services, and asset management. The company operates in two segments: Retail Banking and Global Wholesale Banking.
BSMX has a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10 with positive returns (ROE 12.75%, ROA 1.37%) that are outperforming 74% of the Global Banks - Regional - Latin America industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with a interest coverage of 0.68 and a cash to debt of 1.34 that is at average level of its industry. All these ratios are hitting the lowest level in the company’s recent history.
The price of the stock has dropped by 42% during the last five years, by 24% year to date, by 49% during the last 12 months, and is now -50.% from its 52-week high and +10.46% from its 52-week low.
In the last quarter, the company reported strong loan growth and expanded loan book by 15% year-over-year, exceeded macro growth rates, and achieving a positive performance. For the rest of year, they expect loan growth to range between 13% and 15%.
The only shareholder of the company is Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.11% of outstanding shares, followed by John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.06% and Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with a very small stake that is less than 0.01% of outstanding shares.
Other Increased Stakes
The hedge fund also increased seven of its stakes, and the most important are the following: Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (BABA) by 294%, Qiwi Plc (QIWI) by 16%, China Lodging Group Ltd. (HTHT) by 1839.53% and Vale SA (VALE) by 329.74%.
| Ashmore Group Top Buys Q2 2015 | |||
| Ticker | Value (x1000) | Impact % | Trade |
| SIMO | 14,773 | 4.75% | New Buy |
| MY | 4,998 | 1.61% | New Buy |
| YY | 3,355 | 1.08% | New Buy |
| INFY | -- | -- | +324% |
| BSMX | -- | -- | +55% |
As of the latest quarter, the hedge fund has its portfolio divided by the following sectors:
| Main Sectors | |
| Finance | 43% |
| Information Technology | 32% |
| Transports | 8% |
| Materials | 5% |
| Energy | 3% |
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