In third quarter trading, Third Avenue Management recorded both big profits and big losses.
Third Avenue Management (Trades, Portfolio) was founded by legendary value investor Martin Whitman (Trades, Portfolio), and the firm manages mutual funds, separate accounts and hedge funds. The mutual funds include Third Avenue Value Fund, managed by Whitman, Third Avenue Small-Cap Value Fund, managed by Curtis Jensen, Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund, managed by Michael Winer, and Third Avenue International Value Fund, managed by Amit Wadhwaney.
Following are the stocks in which the firm closed its positions during the third quarter. The firm had a good gain of 44% from Encore Wire Corp. (WIRE, Financial), but it had a big loss of 43% from EP Energy Corp. (EPE, Financial).
The firm had held 286,017 shares of Rosetta Resources Inc. (ROSE). It was a new stock in the portfolio, having been established in the first quarter. In the second quarter the firm reduced its stake by 2.95%, and this quarter it sold all its shares. The firm gained 12% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.17% on the portfolio.
Rosetta Resources has a market cap of $1.51 billion and is an exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition and development of onshore energy resources in the U.S. It has a forward P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/B of 1.46 and a P/S of 1.10. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 6/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 7/10.
Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) and FPA Capital Fund (Trades, Portfolio) are other funds that exited their positions in the company.
The firm had held 257,877 shares of Actuant Corp. (ATU). The position was established in Q1 2014 for an average price of $34.54 per share. The firm increased its stake by 69.82% in Q2 2014 and reduced its stake by 65.11% in Q4 2014. This quarter the firm closed its position and lost 22% on the investment. The deal had an impact of -0.15% on the portfolio.
Actuant has a market cap of $1.37 billion and is a diversified company that designs, manufactures and distributes various industrial products and systems. It has a P/E of 73.30, a forward P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/B of 2.05 and a P/S of 1.15. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 5/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 7/10.
Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their stakes more than 37%. Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his stake 9.41%.
The firm had held 421,206 shares of SunCoke Energy Inc. (SXC). The position was established in Q4 2013 for an average price of $20.64 per share. Last quarter the firm increased its stake by 0.05%, and this quarter it sold its stake. The firm lost 13% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.14% on the portfolio.
SunCoke Energy has a market cap of $232.92 billion and is an independent producer of coke in the Americas as measured by tons of coke produced each year. It has a forward P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/B of 0.83 and a P/S of 0.17. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 6/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 4/10.
Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) is another guru who exited his position in this quarter.
TopBuild Corp. (BLD) is another stock that lost its position in the portfolio. The stock was new in the second quarter, in which the firm bought 190,773 shares at an average price of $25.91 and this quarter sold it above its purchase price at $30.94. The firm gained 19% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.75% on the portfolio.
TopBuild has a market cap of $1.1 billion and operates in the Global Building Materials industry. It has a P/E of 47.80, a P/B of 1.29 and a P/S of 0.69. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 5/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 3/10.
Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. and T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) are other funds that closed their positions.
The firm had held 64,104 shares of Seacor Holdings Inc. (CKH). It had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2011; in the last four quarters the firm has been reducing its stake and this quarter sold its stake. The firm had a gain of 3% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.11% on the portfolio.
Seacor Holdings has a market cap of $872.38 million and, with its subsidiaries, is in the business of owning, operating, investing in and marketing equipment, primarily in the offshore oil and gas, shipping and logistics industries. It has a P/E of 74.20, a forward P/E ratio of 15.65, a P/B of 0.65 and a P/S of 0.89. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 6/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 5/10.
The stock also lost its position in the portfolio of Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio).
EP Energy is another stock that lost its position in the portfolio. It was established in the second quarter at an average price of $13.24. This quarter the firm sold its stake below its purchase price and had a big loss of 43% on the investment. The deal had an impact of -0.11% on the portfolio.
EP Energy has a market cap of $860.85 million and is an oil exploration and production company. It is engaged in the acquisition and development of unconventional onshore oil and natural gas properties in the U.S. It has a P/E of 1.39, a forward P/E ratio of 49.26, a P/B of 0.20 and a P/S of 0.29. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 7/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 4/10.
Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) is another guru who exited his position during the third quarter.
The firm had held 64,243 shares of Bristow Group Inc. (BRS). It has had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2010; in the last six quarters the firm has been reducing its stake and this quarter sold all its shares. The firm gained 27% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.09% on the portfolio.
Bristow Group has a market cap of $825.68 million and is a provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry based on the number of aircraft operated and one of two helicopter service providers to the offshore energy industry with global operations. It has a forward P/E ratio of 8.75, a P/B of 0.54 and a P/S of 0.47. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 6/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 6/10.
The stock only lost its position in the portfolio of Third Avenue Management (Trades, Portfolio) while RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) and John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) reduced by 82.81%, 55.70% and 16.51%.
The firm had held 151,436 shares of Forestar Group Inc. (FOR). The position was established in Q2 2014 for an average price of $17.77 per share, and last quarter the firm reduced its stake by 67.97%. This quarter the firm sold its stake below its purchase price and lost 12% on the investment. The deal had an impact of -0.05% on the portfolio.
Forestar Group has a market cap of $355.66 million and is a real estate and oil and gas company. It has three business segments: Real estate, oil and gas and other natural resources. It has a forward P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/B of 0.69 and a P/S of 1.69. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 6/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 7/10.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) is another guru who exited his position in the company during the third quarter.
The firm had held 30,382 shares of Encore Wire. It had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2010. In the last seven quarters the firm has been reducing its stake and this quarter sold its stake. The firm gained 44% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.03% on the portfolio.
Encore Wire has a market cap of $795.29 million and is a manufacturer of electrical building wire and cable. It is a significant supplier of building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments and manufactured housing. It has a P/E of 19.20, a forward P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/B of 1.52 and a P/S of 0.77. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 8/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 7/10.
The stock only was traded by four investors in which James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) increased their stakes by 53.79%, 22.06% and 3.40%.
The firm had held 38,890 shares of Excel Trust Inc. (EXL). The position was established in Q1 2011; since then the firm has been increasing and reducing its stake but never exited its position. In the last three quarters the firm reduced its stake and this quarter closed its stake. The firm gained 15% on the investment, and the deal had an impact of -0.02% on the portfolio.
Excel Trust has a market cap of $1 billion and is a vertically integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate firm engaged in acquiring, financing, developing, leasing, owning and managing community and power centers, grocery anchored neighborhood centers and freestanding retail properties. It has a P/E of 59.80, a forward P/E ratio of 400.00, a P/B of 1.60 and a P/S of 6.71. GuruFocus has given the stock a financial strength rating of 7/10 and a profitability and growth rating of 6/10.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) also closed their positions in the third quarter.
