Causeway Invests in Royal Dutch Shell in 1st Quarter

Guru buys stakes in ING and Prudential

Author's Avatar
Jun 19, 2016
Article's Main Image

Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio) made four new buys in the first quarter – the largest in an oil and gas company and the others in financial services and retail.

Causeway’s purchase of a 3,954,497-share stake in Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:RDSB, Financial), an oil and gas company with offices in London and The Hague, was its largest of the first quarter. The firm paid an average price of £15.47 ($22.20 in U.S. currency) per share in a deal that had a 1.86% impact on Causeway’s portfolio.

The stake is 0.05% of Royal Dutch Shell’s outstanding shares and 1.86% of Causeway’s total assets. The acquisition made Causeway the company’s leading shareholder among the gurus.

Royal Dutch Shell has a forward P/E of 19.3, a P/B of 1 and a P/S of 0.7. GuruFocus gives Royal Dutch Shell a financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10 with an ROE of -1.13 and an ROA of -0.55% that are lower than 68% of the companies in the Global Oil & Gas Integrated industry.

02May2017161416.png

Royal Dutch Shell sold for £17.87 ($25.65 in American money) per share Friday. The DCF Calculator gives Royal Dutch Shell a fair value of £-2.31.

Causeway purchased a 3,615,970-share stake in ING Groep NV (XAMS:INGA, Financial), an Amsterdam-based banking and financial services company, for an average price of €10.9 ($12.29 in U.S. dollars) per share. The transaction had a 0.84% impact on Causeway’s portfolio.

The stake is 0.09% of ING’s outstanding shares and 0.84% of Causeway’s total assets. Causeway is ING’s only shareholder among the gurus.

ING has a P/E of 11.7, a forward P/E of 9.5, a P/B of 0.9 and a P/S of 4.2. GuruFocus gives ING a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 4/10 with an ROE of 6.95% that is lower than 60% of the companies in the Global Banks – Global industry and an ROA of 0.39% that is lower than 77% of the companies in that industry.

02May2017161416.png

ING sold for €9.98 ($11.25 in American currency) per share Friday. The DCF Calculator gives ING a fair value of €10.06 with a margin of safety of 6%.

Causeway’s third-largest new buy of the quarter was a 598,534-share stake in Prudential PLC (LSE:PRU, Financial), a London-based life insurance and financial services company, for an average price of £13.07 ($18.76 in U.S. money) per share. The deal had a 0.22% impact on Causeway’s portfolio.

The stake is 0.02% of Prudential’s outstanding shares and 0.22% of Causeway’s total assets. Causeway is Prudential’s leading shareholder among the gurus.

Prudential has a P/E of 12.1, a forward P/E of 10.3, a P/B of 2.4 and a P/S of 0.8. GuruFocus gives Prudential a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10 with an ROE of 20.98% that is higher than 91% of the companies in the Global Insurance – Life industry and an ROA of 0.68% that is lower than 56% of the companies in that industry.

02May2017161416.png

Prudential sold for £12.25 ($17.58 in American dollars) per share Friday. The DCF Calculator gives Prudential a fair value of £10.81.

Causeway also invested in a 576,506-share stake in Marks & Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS, Financial), a London-based retailer, for an average price of £4.2 ($6.03 in U.S. currency) per share. The transaction had a 0.06% impact on Causeway’s portfolio.

The stake is 0.04% of Marks & Spencer’s outstanding shares and 0.06% of Causeway’s total assets. Causeway is Marks & Spencer’s only shareholder among the gurus.

Marks & Spencer has a P/E of 14.1, a forward P/E of 10.2, a P/B of 1.7 and a P/S of 0.6. GuruFocus gives Marks & Spencer a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10 with an ROE of 12.57% that is higher than 70% of the companies in the Global Department Stores industry and an ROA of 4.91% that is higher than 64% of the companies in that industry.

02May2017161417.png

Marks & Spencer sold for £3.52 ($5.05 in American money) per share Friday. The DCF Calculator gives Marks & Spencer a fair value of £2.57.

Start a free seven-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus.