Glenview Capital Boosts HealthSouth Stake

Larry Robbins' hedge fund firm Glenview Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of HealthSouth (HLS).  Per the filing, Glenview has disclosed a 6.46% ownership stake in the company with over 5.9 million shares.

This is up from the 1.7 million HLS shares Glenview owned at the end of the first quarter.  The new filing was made due to activity on July 21st.

We also recently highlighted how Glenview added to its Tenet Healthcare (THC) stake.

Glenview has been extremely successful with their bets on the healthcare industry since the Affordable Care Act was initially introduced.  They've wagered on for-profit hospitals and insurers, among other things and have seen substantial returns from consolidation and increased profits at these companies.

Per Google Finance, HealthSouth is "an owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. The Company's inpatient rehabilitation hospitals offer rehabilitative care across an array of diagnoses, which include physical and cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, head injuries, spinal cord injuries and a variety of debilitating neurological conditions. HealthSouth operates in around 33 states across the United States and in Puerto Rico and serves patients through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies and hospice agencies. The Company's inpatient rehabilitation hospitals offer rehabilitative care across an array of diagnoses. As of December 31, 2014, the Company operated 107 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. The Company's inpatient hospitals are concentrated in the eastern half of the United States and Texas."

You can view additional portfolio activity from Glenview here.

Analysts' Best Stock Picks For 2011

Raymond James is out with its Analysts Best Picks for 2011 report. We highlighted their picks from 2010 and those performed pretty well with a 22.3% return. In fact, their annual selections have a 10 year average return of 12.4%.

The report details analysis of the fundamentals, growth prospects and risks associated with each stock. They've selected 13 stocks again this year and in alphabetical order, here are the Analysts' Best Stock Picks for 2011:

- Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX)
- Bank of America (BAC)
- CONSOL Energy (CNX)
- Covidien (COV)
- Digital Realty Trust (DLR)
- Equinix (EQIX)
- Halliburton (HAL)
- HealthSouth (HLS)
- Lincoln National (LNC)
- NVIDIA (NVDA)
- Panera Bread (PNRA)
- Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)
- Stanley Black & Decker (SWK)

There are some pretty familiar names in that bunch and a few prevalent themes. They've included multiple plays in the health space with MDRX, HLS, and COV. Also, technology is represented with two names in NVDA and EQIX. Also, energy/natural resources are abundant via PXD, CNX and HAL. We wanted to highlight a few of their selections below:

Bank of America (BAC): This name is interesting because it was also on the analysts' best picks list for 2010. However, over the course of last year the stock declined. Raymond James sees the price depreciation as further opportunity and is again a buyer of shares this year. Not to mention, some of the largest hedge funds in the game have sizable stakes in BAC, including John Paulson.

Halliburton (HAL): Arguably, the time to buy this name was during the Gulf oil spill when uncertainty abounded and the stock price was depressed. Yet, RJ feels the company will see near-term earnings momentum and a rebound in international activity. We've talked about how hedge funds are betting on higher oil prices as well.

Equinix (EQIX): This tech name is intriguing because it saw some volatility last year. And as we detailed in our Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter months ago, a large shareholder (Shumway Capital) was reducing its position size and could be partially responsible for the volatility. Raymond James likes the company's dominant market position in the colocation market and data center industry.


Keep in mind that obviously with the market rally, a lot of these names have been bid up significantly already. Some strategists would obviously advocate waiting to purchase some of these names given that they're extended and knowing that the market doesn't go straight up forever. RJ's Chief Investment Strategist Jeff Saut expects a buyable pullback.

Embedded below is the full research on Analysts' Best Picks for 2011:



You can download a .pdf copy here.

For further research from this shop, head to the previous best stock picks for 2010 as well as Jeff Saut's risk management principles.