Western Union Among David Abrams' Holdings Trading With Low P/S

The company is also trading with a low P/E ratio

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Dec 30, 2015
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Several stakes currently found in David Abrams (Trades, Portfolio)'s portfolio are trading with low P/S ratios.

Abrams founded Abrams Capital Management, and the majority of Abrams’ holdings are in the banking industry, with Western Union (WU, Financial) accounting for about 26% of his portfolio and Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial) at about 10%.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) is trading at about $9 with a P/S ratio of 0.10 and a forward P/E multiple of 303.03. Over the last 10 years, the stock has dropped by 68%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $19.02 and as low as $8.35.

Barnes & Noble is a bookseller and a content, commerce and technology company providing customers access to trade books, textbooks, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multichannel distribution platform.

Fiscal 2016 second-quarter sales saw a decrease of 4.5% compared to a year ago. The second-quarter EBITDA loss was $20.5 million, which included a $10.5 million executive severance charge related to the Barnes & Noble College spinoff.

Abrams holds 9.05% of outstanding shares of the company and is its largest shareholder among the gurus followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.09%, Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.49% and First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.89%.

Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (BNED) is trading at about $10 with a P/S ratio of 0.26 and a trailing 12-month P/E multiple of 253.25. Over the last 10 years, the stock has dropped by 25%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $15.49 and as low as $8.15.

Barnes & Noble Education enhances the academic and social purpose of educational institutions. Through Barnes & Noble College, our flagship business, Barnes & Noble Education serves more than 5 million college students and faculty members in 743 campus stores nationwide, delivering essential educational content and tools within a dynamic retail environment.

During the fiscal 2016 second quarter sales had an increase of 0.6%, which represents a 1.8% year-to-date increase.

Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 2.18% of outstanding shares followed by Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.78%, Michael Price (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.1% and Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.09%.

MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) is trading at about $6 with a P/S ratio of 0.28 and an estimated forward P/E multiple of 7.19. Over the last 10 years, the stock has dropped by 97%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $11 and as low as $6.24.

The company designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers and portable digital music players and sells a variety of related software, services, accessories, networking solutions and third-party digital content and applications.

The company’s largest shareholder among the gurus is Abrams with 9.64% of outstanding shares followed by James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.34%, Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.21% and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.14%.

VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP) is trading at about $3.3 with a P/S ratio of 0.35 and an estimated forward P/E multiple of 7.17. Over the last 10 years, the stock has dropped by 82%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $6.5 and as low as $2.89.

The company is a telecommunications operator providing voice and data services through an array of wireless, fixed and broadband Internet services as well as selling equipment and accessories.

Abrams is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.58% of outstanding shares followed by Howard Marks (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.1%, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07% and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02%.

Manitowoc Co. Inc. (MTW) is trading at about $15 with a P/S ratio of 0.59, a trailing 12-month P/E multiple of 39.21 and an estimated forward P/E multiple of 17.21. Over the last 10 years, the stock has risen by 18%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $22.99 and as low as $13.86.

The DCF model gives a fair value of $4.17, making the stock overvalued by 263%. The Peter Lynch earnings line suggests a smaller margin of safety, giving a fair price of $9.7.

It is a multi-industry, capital goods manufacturer operating in two principal markets: Cranes and Related Products (Crane) and Foodservice Equipment (Foodservice). The company's Crane business is a global provider of engineered lift solutions, offering one of the broadest lines of lifting equipment in the industry. In the third quarter sales saw a 12.5% decrease from the third quarter of 2014. Approximately 40% of this decline was due to unfavorable foreign currency impacts.

The company’s largest shareholder among the gurus is Carl Icahn (Trades, Portfolio) with 7.75% of outstanding shares followed by Alan Fournier (Trades, Portfolio) with 7.3%, Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio) with 7.04% and David Abrams (Trades, Portfolio) with 3.67%.

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (CCO) is trading at about $5.5 with a P/S ratio of 0.70 and an estimated forward P/E multiple of 357.14. Over the last 10 years, the stock has dropped by 72%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $11.68 and as low as $4.65.

The company changed its name to Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings in August 2005. It is an outdoor advertising company.

Abrams is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.93% of outstanding shares followed by Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.49%, Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.15% and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.01%.

Western Union is trading at about $18.4 with a P/S ratio of 1.74, a trailing 12-month P/E multiple of 11.34 and an estimated forward P/E multiple of 10.59. Over the last 10 years, the stock has risen by just 1%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $22.84 and as low as $16.73.

The DCF model gives a fair value of $17.34, making the stock overpriced by 6%. The Peter Lynch earnings line suggests a bigger margin of safety, giving a fair price of $24.2.

The company is engaged in global money transfer and payment services, providing people with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send money around the world. Its services are available through a network of over 410,000 agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories. In the last quarter it had a strong operating margin of 21.8% and returned $670 million to shareholders through dividends and repurchases year to date through September

The company’s largest shareholder among the gurus is Abrams with 4.28% of outstanding shares followed by John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.09%, Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.96% and T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.78%.

Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (ENT) is trading at about $10.18 with a P/S ratio of 1.92. Over the last 10 years, the stock has risen by 7%; during the last 52 weeks the price has been as high as $16.01 and as low as $9.15.

The company is a full-service provider of connectivity and content to the airline industry. Its business is comprised of two operating segments: Connectivity and Content. The Connectivity segment provides its airline partners and their passengers with Wi-Fi connectivity over Ku-band satellite transmissions.

Abrams is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 6.37% of outstanding shares followed by Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.25%, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.48% and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.14%.