Arnold Van Den Berg, who founded Century Management in 1974, reduced 39 stakes in the fourth quarter with most reductions below 10%. Following are his largest reductions.
The largest reduction was in Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. (GLDD) in which he reduced his stake by 99.87% with an impact of -0.68% on the portfolio.
The company is a provider of dredging services in the East, West and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. The company also owns a specialty contracting service provider that primarily offers environmental and remediation services in the Northeast and Midwest U.S.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10 with weak returns of ROE 5.49% and ROA 1.55% that are underperforming 64% of the companies in the Global Engineering & Construction industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10, with a cash-to-debt of 0.03 that is far below the industry median of 0.63.
During the third quarter with lower foreign and domestic capital and maintenance dredging offset by slightly higher coastal protection, revenue decreased slightly compared to the third quarter 2014 because of improved utilization and favorable project mix, both leading to strong gross profit margins during the third quarter compared to the same quarter in 2014.
John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.32% of outstanding shares followed by Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07% and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07%.
Van Den Berg's second-largest reduction was ASA Gold And Precious Metals Ltd. (ASA) in which he reduced his stake by 98.79% with an impact of -0.33% on the portfolio.
The company provides investors a vehicle to invest in a portfolio of companies engaged in the exploration, mining or processing of gold, silver or other precious minerals. In the nine months ended Aug. 31, 2015, the company reported that its total return based on ASA’s share price was negative 25.1%, and the return for the FTSE Gold Mines Total Return Index was negative 21.3%.
The company's largest shareholder among the gurus is Royce with 4.72% of outstanding shares followed by Bruce Berkowitz (Trades, Portfolio) with 3% and Van Den Berg with 0.02%.
Van Den Berg's third-largest reduction was Chase Corp. (CCF) in which he reduced his stake by 87.73% with an impact of -0.1% on the portfolio.
The company is a manufacturer of protective materials for high reliability applications. It is organized into two operating segments, an Industrial Materials segment and a Construction Materials segment. Third-quarter revenue grew 2.8% compared to the same quarter of the last fiscal year, and net income attributable to Chase Corporation grew 7.9% from the prior-year first quarter.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 14.28% and ROA 7.05% that are overperforming 86% of the companies in the Global Diversified Industrials industry. Financial strength has a rating of 8 out of 10 with a cash-to-debt of 1.04 that is above the industry median of 0.74.
Royce is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 6.89% of outstanding shares followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.83% and Zeke Ashton (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.17%.
The guru reduced his stake in Coca-Cola Co. (KO) by 49.48% with an impact of -0.3% on the portfolio.
The company is a beverage company. It owns or licenses and markets more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, mainly sparkling beverages but also a variety of still beverages such as waters, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees and energy and sports drinks.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 23.41% and ROA 7.39% that are overperforming 63% of the companies in the Global Beverages - Soft Drinks industry. Financial strength has a rating of 8 out of 10 with a cash-to-debt of 0.49 that is far below the industry median of 0.58.
Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 9.2% of outstanding shares followed by Donald Yacktman (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.57%, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.33%, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.24%, Yacktman Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.23% and Yacktman Focused Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.14%.
He reduced his stake in Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO) by 46.31% with an impact of -0.35% on the portfolio.
The company is a low-cost gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, China, Greece, Romania and Brazil. The company operates five gold mines: Kisladag and Efemcukuru in Turkey and Jinfeng, Tanjianshan and White Mountain in China. Third-quarter loss attributable to shareholders was 13 cents per share compared to net profit attributable to shareholders of 3 cents per share in the third quarter of 2014.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with negative returns of ROE -5.86% and ROA 5.16% that are underperforming 56% of the companies in the Global Gold industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with a cash-to-debt of 0.68 that is below the industry median of 1.73.
The company’s largest shareholder among the gurus is First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.9% of outstanding shares followed by Simons with 0.24%, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.11% and Gabelli with 0.02%.
The investor reduced his stake in Markel Corp. (MKL) by 32.11% with an impact of -1.51% on the portfolio.
The company is a diverse financial holding company serving niche markets. It is engaged in marketing and underwriting specialty insurance products. The company has five segments and one discontinued segment: the Excess and Surplus Lines, the Specialty Admitted and the London Insurance Market.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with weak returns of ROE 14.28% and ROA 7.05% that are underperforming 70% of the companies in the Global Insurance - Property & Casualty industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with a cash-to-debt of 1.01 that is below the industry median of 2.89.
Chuck Akre (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 3.69% of outstanding shares followed by Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.46%, Simons with 0.63%, Royce with 0.41%, Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.2% and Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.11%.
He reduced his stake in Buenaventura Mining Co. Inc. (BVN) by 28.39% with an impact of -0.13% on the portfolio.
It is engaged in the exploration, mining, concentration, smelting and marketing of polymetallic ores and metals. The company currently operates the Uchucchacua, Orcopampa, Poracota, Julcani, Recuperada, Antapite, Ishihuinca, Mallay, Breapampa and Shila-Paula. Third-quarter net sales had a 35% decrease compared to the same quarter of a year before and due to lower revenues at Yanacocha (13% lower QoQ) royalty income decreased 9%.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with negative returns of ROE -5.32% and ROA -3.93% that are overperforming 55% of the companies in the Global Industrial Metals & Minerals industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with a cash-to-debt of 0.62 that is below the industry median of 1.73.
The investor is the company’s largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.13% of outstanding shares followed by John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.08% and Grantham with 0.01%.
The guru reduced his stake in Synalloy Corp. (SYNL) by 25.75% with an impact of -0.18% on the portfolio.
The company's business is divided into two segments, the Metals Segment and the Specialty Chemicals Segment. The Metals Segment, operating as Bristol Metals LLC, manufactures pipe and piping systems from stainless steel and other alloys for the chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, mining, power generation, wastewater treatment, liquid natural gas, brewery, food processing, petroleum, pharmaceutical and other industries.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 14.28% and ROA 7.05% that are overperforming 77% of the companies in the Global Steel industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with a cash-to-debt of 0.01 that is far below the industry median of 0.22.
Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio) is largest shareholder of the company among the gurus, with 9.01% of outstanding shares followed by Royce with 6.29%.
