Kahn Brothers (Trades, Portfolio), founded by legendary investor Irving Kahn, follows a Benjamin Graham-style investing approach. On Tuesday, the firm disclosed it increased its position in three companies during the first quarter: Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO, Financial), New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYCB, Financial) and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK, Financial).
Assured Guaranty
Kahn’s firm added 177,543 shares of Assured Guaranty for an average price of $35.23 per share. With this transaction, the firm increased its portfolio 1.02%.
Assured Guaranty offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments. The company has four positive investing signs, including expanding operating margins and a dividend yield near a one-year high.
GuruFocus ranks Assured Guaranty’s profitability 6 out of 10: although the company’s profit margins outperform 96% of global competitors, its three-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth rate of -1.60% underperforms 62% of global specialty insurance companies.
New York Community Bancorp
Kahn Brothers invested in 303,207 shares of New York Community Bancorp for an average price of $13.78. With this transaction, the firm increased its portfolio 0.63%.
New York Community Bancorp provides multi-family loans on rent-regulated apartment buildings around New York. The company’s profitability ranks a poor 3 out of 10 as the its three-year revenue growth rate and three-year EBITDA growth rate underperform over 82% of global competitors. Additionally, GuruFocus ranks the company’s business predictability one star out of five as it has a 10-year revenue growth rate of -1.50%.
GlaxoSmithKline
Kahn’s firm added 91,479 shares of GlaxoSmithKline for an average price of $37.24. With this transaction, the firm increased its portfolio 0.57%.
GlaxoSmithKline, a major drug manufacturer, develops various respiratory and antiviral therapies. Although the company’s profitability ranks a good 6 out of 10, GlaxoSmithKline’s net margin and return on assets are near a 10-year low and underperform 53% of global competitors.
T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) manager John Linehan pared 0.4% of his stake in GlaxoSmithKline during the quarter.
Disclosure: No positions.
