John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), founder of Ariel Investments, disclosed purchasing only three new stocks in the second quarter, according to a portfolio update released Friday afternoon.
Rogers purchased Lakeland Industries Inc. (LAKE, Financial), The Rubicon Project Inc. (RUBI, Financial) and Crown Crafts Inc. (CRWS, Financial). At the end of the quarter, Ariel Investmentsā portfolio listed 160 stocks, valued at $8.9 billion.
Ariel Investmentsā approach to investing centers on taking a long-term, patient view. The firm manages portfolios divided into three categories: value, long-term value and global. Its flagship Ariel Fund has returned 11.49% annualized since inception in 1986, beating the 10.48% annualized gain in the S&P 500.
In a second quarter commentary, Ariel Vice Chairman Charles Bobrinskoy relayed his outlook for the markets going forward, saying he remained ācautiously optimisticā that economic and corporate earnings growth mixed with positive effects of U.S. tax reform would result in improved profitability at his portfolio companies.
āFurthermore, we believe valuations have come down to attractive levels, particularly with the S&P 500 Index trading at 17.2x forward earnings and the Russell 2500 Index trading at 17.1x forward earnings, from 19.4x and 19.6x forward earnings, respectively, at the start of this year,ā he wrote. āGiven our āslow and steadyā approach, we remain confident in our portfolio positioning, especially with our domestic strategies trading at a discount relative to the indices.ā
Rogersā new buys
Lakeland Industries Inc. (LAKE, Financial)
Rogers purchased 474,799 shares of Lakeland Industries, giving it 0.08% portfolio space. The stockās second quarter share price averaged $14.
Lakeland Industries Inc. has a market cap of $111.600 million; its shares were traded around $13.75 with a P/E ratio of 275 and P/S ratio of 1.13.
Rubicon Project Inc. (RUBI, Financial)
Rogers purchased 620,120 shares of Rubicon Project Inc., giving it 0.02% portfolio space. The stockās second quarter share price averaged $2.
The Rubicon Project Inc has a market cap of $181.680 million; its shares were traded around $3.58 with and P/S ratio of 1.45.
Crown Crafts Inc. (CRWS, Financial)
Rogers purchased 157,616 shares of Crown Crafts, giving it 0.01% portfolio space. The stockās second quarter average price averaged $6.
Crown Crafts Inc. has a market cap of $59.190 million; its shares were traded around $5.88 with a P/E ratio of 20.28 and P/S ratio of 0.84. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Crown Crafts Inc. stocks is 5.45%. The forward dividend yield of Crown Crafts Inc. stocks is 5.58%.
Largest sales
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW, Financial)
Rogers sold his stake of 206,474 shares of T. Rowe Price Group Inc., which had a 0.25% impact on the portfolio.
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. has a market cap of $28.49 billion; its shares were traded around $117.14 with a P/E ratio of 18.12 and P/S ratio of 5.59. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. stocks is 2.17%. The forward dividend yield of T. Rowe Price Group Inc stocks is 2.36%. T. Rowe Price Group Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 11.50% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated T. Rowe Price Group Inc. the business predictability rank of 5-star.
Contango Oil & Gas Co. (MCF, Financial)
Rogers sold his stake of 4,190,221 shares of Contango Oil & Gas Co., which had a 0.17% impact on the portfolio.
Contango Oil & Gas Co. has a market cap of $119.610 million; its shares were traded around $4.65 with and P/S ratio of 1.42.
XO Group Inc. (XOXO, Financial)
Rogers sold his stake of 497,487 shares of XO Group Inc., which had a 0.12% impact on the portfolio.
XO Group Inc. has a market cap of $768.11 million; its shares were traded around $29.65 with a P/E ratio of 60.54 and P/S ratio of 4.56. XO Group Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 6.80% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated XO Group Inc. the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.
CRA International Inc. (CRAI, Financial)
Rogers sold his stake of 109,748 shares of CRA International Inc., which had a 0.07% impact on the portfolio.
CRA International Inc. has a market cap of $448.840 million; its shares were traded around $55.55 with a P/E ratio of 37.76 and P/S ratio of 1.20. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of CRA International Inc. stocks is 1.16%. The forward dividend yield of CRA International Inc. stocks is 1.22%.
Rogers sold his stake of 58,816 shares of IDEX Corp., which had a 0.1% impact on the portfolio.
IDEX Corp. has a market cap of $11.58 billion; its shares were traded around $151.04 with a P/E ratio of 30.57 and P/S ratio of 4.90. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of IDEX Corp. stocks is 1.05%. The forward dividend yield of IDEX Corp. stocks is 1.13%. IDEX Corp. had an annual average earnings growth of 9.80% over the past 10 years.
See John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio)ā portfolio here.
