At the end of the second quarter of 2015, the hedge fund Zweig Advisers reported a total value of its portfolio of $696.8 million, which declined 5.43% over the previous quarter.
During Q2 2015, the hedge fund bought eight new stocks and increased seven of its stakes. The following are the most heavily weighted buys during the quarter.
It bought shares of Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) with an impact of 1.93% on its portfolio. The company, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, offers financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. It offers these products and services to individual and institutional customers through proprietary and third party distribution networks. The Company's businesses are separated into the Financial Services Businesses and the Closed Block Business.
The price of the stock has risen by 69% during the last 5 years, but dropped by 1% year-to-date. It did not face any change during the last 12 months. The current price is -5.29% from its 52-week high and +19.86% from its 52-week low.
The company has a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with weak positive returns (ROE 6.05%, ROA 0.33%) that are underperforming 80% of the Global Insurance - Life industry. Financial strength has a rating of 5 out of 10 with an interest coverage of 1.34, and a weak cash to debt of 0.54 that is very low if compared to the industry median of 3.06.
In the last quarter, U.S. Individual Life sales was up 26% from the year-ago quarter with increases in universal, term, and variable life.
The main hedge fund holding shares of the company is Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.55% of outstanding shares, followed by Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.27% and Ken Heebner (Trades, Portfolio) who holds 0.21% of shares outstanding of PRU.
It bought shares of Progressive Corp (PGR) with an impact of 1.90% on its portfolio. The company offers a number of personal and commercial property-casualty insurance products mainly related to motor vehicles. The Company's insurance subsidiaries and affiliate provide personal and commercial automobile insurance and other specialty property-casualty insurance and related services throughout the United States.
The price of the stock has risen by 60% during the last 5 years, by 16% year-to-date and by 27% during the last 12 months. The current price is -0.57% from its 52-week high and +29.30% from its 52-week low.
The company has a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with positive returns (ROE 18.82%, ROA 4.97%) that are outperforming 82% of the Global Insurance - Property & Casualty industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with a very high interest coverage of 16.32, and a very low cash to debt of 0.10 that underperforms 94% of it’s competitors.
In the second quarter, the company beat Wall Street analysts’ EPS estimates of $0.54, posting EPS of $0.62 and revenues was up by 13.4% over 2Q14.
The main hedge fund holding shares of the company is PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.98% of outstanding shares, followed by Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) which holds 1.17% of outstanding shares and Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.77%.
It bought shares of Whirlpool Corp (WHR) with an impact of 1.76% on its portfolio. The company is a manufacturer and marketer of home appliances and related products. Its products are laundry appliances, refrigerators and freezers, cooking appliances, dishwashers, mixers and other portable household appliances. The Company also produces hermetic compressors for refrigeration systems.
The price of the stock has risen by 129% during the last 5 years, dropped by 8% since the beginning of the year and has risen by 19% during the last 12 months. The current price is -18.79% from its 52-week high and +27.63% from its 52-week low.
The company has a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10 with positive returns (ROE 13.54%, ROA 3.77%) that are outperforming 55% of the Global Consumer Electronics industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with an interest coverage of 3.87, and a weak cash to debt of 0.15 that is very low if compared to the industry median of 1.41.
In the last quarter, net sales compared to the same prior-year period had an increase of over 11%. While their long-term growth strategy remains on track, for the full-year 2015, the company continues to expect to generate free cash flow of approximately $700 million.
The main hedge fund holding shares of the company is Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.48% of outstanding shares, followed by David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.42% and Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.40%.
It bought shares of Hess Corp (HES) with an impact of 1.72% on its portfolio. The company with its subsidiaries is a Exploration and Production (E&P) company that develops, produces, purchases, transports and sells crude oil and natural gas.Ă‚
The price of the stock has risen by 13% during the last 5 years, dropped by 21% year-to-date and has dropped by 41% during the last 12 months. The current price is -42.35% from its 52-week high and +54.65% from its 52-week low.
The company has a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10 with weak positive returns (ROE 0.19%, ROA 0.11%) that are outperforming 68% the Global Oil & Gas E&P industry. Financial strength has a rating of 5 out of 10 with an interest coverage of 8.54, and a weak cash to debt of 0.16 that is very low if compared to the industry median of 0.53.
The company achieved strong operating performance in the quarter and delivered significant and immediate value to shareholders with the sale of a 50% interest in their Bakken midstream assets.
The main shareholder holding shares of the company is Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) who holds 6.19% of outstanding shares amounting to 16.81% of his total assets, followed by Brain Rogers with 1.83% of outstanding shares, and Manning & Napier Advisors, which holds 1.37% of outstanding shares.
It bought shares of Mohawk Industries Inc (MHK) with an impact of 1.59% on its portfolio. The company is a flooring manufacturer that creates products to enhance residential and commercial spaces around the world. The Company's vertically integrated manufacturing and distribution processes provide competitive advantages in carpet, rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone and vinyl flooring.
The price of the stock has risen by 366% during the last 5 years, by 35% year-to-date and by 43% over the past year, and is trading -0.28% from its 52-week high and +73.16% from its 52-week low.
The company has a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with positive returns (ROE 11.27%, ROA 5.72%) that are over performing 63% of the Global Home Furnishings & Fixtures industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with an interest coverage of 7.87, and a weak cash to debt of 0.05 that is very low if compared to the industry median of 1.10.
The company had a 22% increase over last year’s second quarter adjusted EPS and it is the highest adjusted quarterly EPS in the company’s history. Net sales for the second quarter of 2015 were flat versus the prior year’s second quarter, or a 7% increase on a constant currency exchange rate basis.
The main shareholder holding shares of the company is Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) with 5.9% of outstanding shares, followed by Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) with 3.80% and Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio) with 3.28%.
Increased stakes
The hedge fund also increased seven of its stakes, and the most important are the following:
Qualcomm Inc (QCOM) by 12%, Cf Industries Holdings Inc (CF) by 400%, Intel Corp (INTC) by 19%, Micron Technology Inc (MU) by 53%, Gamestop Corp New (GME) by 40% and Hi-Crush Partners LP (HCLP) by 143.91%.
Summary :
| Zweig Advisers Top Buys Q2 2015 | |||
| Ticker | Value(x1000) | Impact % | Trade |
| PRU | 12,690 | 1.93% | New Buy |
| PGR | 12,524 | 1.90% | New Buy |
| WHR | 11,594 | 1.76% | New Buy |
| HES | 11,303 | 1.72% | New Buy |
| MHK | 10,500 | 1.59% | New Buy |
