The Wasatch International Growth (Trades, Portfolio) Fund disclosed on Tuesday that its top five new holdings for the first quarter are Douzone Bizon Co. Ltd. (XKRX:012510, Financial), Security Bank Corp. (PHS:SECB, Financial), Kakao M Corp. (XKRX:016170, Financial), Reply SPA (MIL:REY, Financial) and Calbee Inc. (TSE:2229, Financial).
Managed by Roger Edgley, the fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in foreign growth companies domiciled in developed and emerging markets.
Douzone Bizon
The growth fund invested in 456,939 shares of Douzone Bizon for an average price of 48,947.7 Korean won ($45.89) per share, giving the position 1.55% portfolio space.
Douzone Bizon develops software products, including enterprise resource planning. The company’s positive investing signs include expanding operating margins and a strong Piotroski F-score of 7. Douzone Bizon’s operating margin of 24.90% outperforms 89% of global application software companies. Based on these factors, GuruFocus ranks the company’s profitability 8 out of 10.
Douzone Bizon’s financial strength also ranks 8 out of 10 primarily due to robust interest coverage of 62.95 and a strong Altman Z-score of 9.10.
Security Bank
The fund invested in 3,163,860 shares of Security Bank for an average price of 249.04 Philippine pesos ($4.75) per share, giving the position 0.91% portfolio weight.
Based in the Philippines, Security Bank engages in various banking services, including deposits, loans, financing, leasing and foreign exchange. GuruFocus lists four positive investing signs for the bank, including a dividend yield near a five-year high and a price-book ratio near a five-year low.
Kakao M
The fund invested in 110,085 shares of Kakao M for an average price of 109,512 Korean won per share, giving the position a portfolio weight of 0.71%.
Kakao M operates Melon, one of the largest online music streaming platforms in South Korea with over 4 million paying users. The Kakao Corp. (XKRX:035720) subsidiary has five positive investing signs, including robust interest coverage, expanding operating margins and a price-sales ratio near a three-year low.
Reply
The fund invested in 201,882 shares of Reply for an average price of 49.66 euros ($58.47) per share, giving the position 0.7% portfolio space.
The Italian technology services company engages in the creation and implementation of solutions based on new communication networks and digital media. GuruFocus ranks Reply’s profitability 6 out of 10: while the company has expanding operating margins and consistent revenue growth, Reply’s three-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth rate of 11.40% ranks higher than just 59% of global competitors. Additionally, GuruFocus marked Reply’s 4.5-star predictability rank on watch.
Calbee
The fund invested in 312,497 shares of Calbee for an average price of 3,658.54 yen ($33.20) per share, giving the position 0.65% portfolio space.
Calbee produces and markets various cereals and packaged foods. GuruFocus ranks the company’s financial strength 8 out of 10 as it has robust interest coverage and Altman Z-scores.
See also
The fund’s other new buys include u-Blox Holding AG (XSWX:UBXN), Avanza Bank AB (OSTO:AZA), Koh Young Technology Inc. (XKRX:098460) and AU Small Finance Bank Ltd. (BOM:540611).
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Disclosure: No positions.
