The Hickory Fund returned +4.82% in the third calendar quarter compared to +7.46% for the Russell Midcap Index, the Fund's primary benchmark. For the calendar year to date, the Hickory Fund returned -10.39% compared to -2.34% for the Russell Midcap Index.
Equities extended their rally during the third quarter, with some sectors once again reaching new highs. Our portfolio continued to recover as well, albeit at a slower pace than in the prior quarter. The U.S. economy continues to heal from the worst of the shutdown-induced trauma, but progress has somewhat lagged the pace set by the market. This is not unexpected, as stock prices reflect both companies' current results and investors' expectations for the future. For our part, we anticipate the recovery will continue but may have fits and starts along the way. The list of things that could cause near-term volatility remains long (debates over additional fiscal stimulus, progress in fighting the virus, and the U.S. presidential election, just to name a few). But in the long term, we remain bullish on the prospects for our collection of businesses.
The Fund's largest holding, Liberty Broadband (LBRDA, Financial) (owner of a 26% stake in Charter Communications (CHTR, Financial)), set the performance standard for both the quarter and year-to- date periods. As customers spend increasingly more time at home, the utility of Charter's broadband offering has never been clearer, and the company's continued execution against its growth plan drove its shares to new heights. Black Knight (BKI, Financial), another quarter and year-to-date standout, rose thanks to strong results from its core mortgage-related businesses, as well as the increased mark-to-market value of its investment in the newly publicly traded Dun & Bradstreet (DNB, Financial). Finally, Qurate Retail (QRTEA, Financial) also placed in the quarter and year-to-date performance derbies. Qurate's home shopping offerings across pay -TV, dot-com, and other digital channels are well suited for the current environment, driving a return to sales growth in the second quarter, the first in more than a year. Management also took steps to highlight the company's resilient cash flow generation, paying a $1.50 cash dividend and distributing new 8% cumulative preferred securities to owners as part of a broader capital structure shuffle. Shares of the preferred initially traded at a significant discount to par, presumably for technical reasons, and we were happy to add to our position at attractive prices. Continued recoveries by shares of Ingersoll Rand (IR, Financial) and CoStar Group (CSGP, Financial) round out the quarter's top five performers.
Our list of quarterly and year- to- date detractors similarly includes three common constituents. First Hawaiian (FHB, Financial) shares have suffered as their customers have been forced to deal with (either directly or indirectly) COVID-19's impact on travel and tourism along with the resulting hit to the Hawaiian economy. Although provisions for potential credit losses have increased, we are comfortable with the bank's ability to manage the loan book through the current crisis. Liberty Latin America (LILA, Financial) has similarly struggled with COVID-19 related lockdowns and downturns across its footprint. Nevertheless, we believe Liberty's fixed and wireless connectivity businesses will prove resilient. Furthermore, money raised by the company's recent equity rights offering (which we participated in) puts them in a position to close on two announced, attractive acquisition opportunities. Liberty SiriusXM (LSXMA, Financial) remains on the quarterly and year-to-date laggards list given its difficult performance in the first quarter as auto-related businesses were hit by supply chain disruptions even before the pandemic fully took hold in the U.S. Shares have recovered in the months since, and we do not view the third quarter's modest decline as particularly material. Guidewire Software (GWRE) and Box (BOX) both appear in our quarterly top detractors list after giving back a portion of the second quarter's very strong gains.
We initiated one new position during the third quarter. First Republic Bank (FRC) is a San Francisco-based provider of personal and business banking, trust and wealth management services catering to low-risk, high-net-worth (or soon to be) clients. First Republic's ultra-high-touch service model makes it less of a commodity bank and more of a rarified luxury service organization. This differentiated service model helps to grow customer lifetime values and allows the company to gain new customers simply through existing client referrals. Earnings growth is therefore less of a function of market interest rates (which would be upside to our investment thesis) but through customer growth driving bank and wealth management assets. For a deeper dive into First Republic's business and our investment thesis, we encourage shareholders to read our Q3 2020 Analyst Corner feature, written by Weitz equity analyst Sean Pompa, CFA.
Our remaining portfolio activity during the quarter was tilted toward sells, including the sale of our remaining Equity Commonwealth shares. The net result leaves the Fund's overall invested level modestly higher at 96% of net assets and, in our estimation, an overall portfolio price-to-value ratio in the low to mid 80's at quarter-end.
The opinions expressed are those of Weitz Investment Management and are not meant as investment advice or to predict or project the future performance of any investment product. The opinions are current through 10/20/2020, are subject to change at any time based on market and other current conditions, and no forecasts can be guaranteed. This commentary is being provided as a general source of information and is not intended as a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold any specific security or to engage in any investment strategy. Investment decisions should always be made based on an investor's specific objectives, financial needs, risk tolerance and time horizon.
