Royce & Associates disclosed last week it trimmed its positions in three companies in September according to GuruFocus Real-Time Picks: John B Sanfillippo & Son Inc. (JBSS, Financial), Village Super Market Inc. (VLGEA, Financial) and Saga Communications Inc. (SGA, Financial).
The firm of Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), the keynote speaker at the 2019 GuruFocus Value Conference, invests primarily in micro-cap and small-cap companies using disciplined, value-oriented approaches. Royce & Associates looks at balance sheet strength, cash flow characteristics and returns on investing capital when choosing stocks for its funds.
The firm has not released its third-quarter portfolio as the deadline is 45 days after the quarter ends. According to current portfolio statistics, the $11.06 billion equity portfolio’s top three sectors in terms of weight are industrials, technology and consumer cyclical.
John B Sanfillippo & Son
Royce & Associates sold 627,926 shares of John B Sanfillippo & Son, knocking 75.74% off its stake. Shares traded around $96.6 on Sept. 30, the transaction date.
The Elgin, Illinois-based company processes and distributes a wide range of nut products in the U.S. GuruFocus ranks the company’s financial strength and profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a strong Piotroski F-score of 7, a solid Altman Z-score of 8.26 and operating margins that have increased approximately 4.40% per year over the past five years despite outperforming just over 59% of global competitors.
Other gurus with holdings in John B Sanfillippo & Son include Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) and fellow 2019 Value Conference speaker Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio).
Village Super Market
Royce & Associates sold 333,397 Class A shares of Village Super Market, trimming the position 38.48%. Shares traded around $26.40 on Sept. 30.
The Springfield, New Jersey-based company said last week in its annual report filing that it operated a chain of 30 ShopRite supermarkets as of July 27, its fiscal year-end date. For the year, Village reported sales per store were $54,715, with approximately $1,186 in sales per average square foot of selling space.
GuruFocus ranks Village’s financial strength 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a strong Altman Z-score of 5.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio that is near a 10-year low of 0.15 and outperforms 76.95% of global competitors.
Gurus with holdings in Village include Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies and Gabelli.
Saga
Royce & Associates sold 187,167 shares of Saga, reducing the position 37.28%. Shares traded around $29.70 on Sept. 30.
The Michigan-based company develops and operates broadcasting shows, which include classic hits, adult contemporary, classic rock, news talk and country. GuruFocus ranks Saga’s financial strength 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include solid interest coverage, a strong Altman Z-score of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio that is near a 10-year low of 0.05 and outperforms 81.82% of global competitors.
Disclosure: No positions.
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