JANA Partners Exits QEP Resources

Last month, we drew attention to the fact that hedge fund JANA Partners had reduced its QEP Resources stake.  With a newly filed 13D, Barry Rosenstein's activist firm has disclosed that they no longer own a stake in the company.

The filing was made due to activity on October 13th.  Previously, JANA had owned over 12.96 million shares. 

Per their latest 13D filing, JANA sold over 2.3 million shares at $22.50 on October 14th, and really ramped up liquidation of the rest of their stake on October 15th at prices ranging from $20.68 to $21.22.

For more on this hedge fund, just yesterday we highlighted some recent buying activity from JANA in another stock.

Per Google Finance, QEP Resources "operates in three lines of business: gas and oil exploration and production, midstream field services, and energy marketing. It conducted through three principal subsidiaries: QEP Energy Company (QEP Energy) acquires, explores for, develops and produces natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL); QEP Field Services Company (QEP Field Services) provides midstream field services, including natural gas gathering, processing, compression and treating services for affiliates and third parties; andQEP Marketing Company (QEP Marketing) markets affiliate and third-party natural gas and oil, provides risk-management services, and owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir."

Viking Global Updates Wayfair Stake

Andreas Halvorsen's hedge fund firm Viking Global has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding Wayfair (W).  Per the filing, Viking now owns 12.6% of the company with 1,750,236 shares.

It should be noted that Viking also filed a Form 3 regarding Wayfair indicating that they previously owned Class B shares and they were converted into Class A common stock.

Viking acquired 400,000 shares at $29 per share in connection with the company's IPO on October 2nd.  Additionally, they acquired 25,000 shares at $36 and 54,250 shares at $35.53 in open market transactions.

You can view other portfolio activity from Viking Global here.

Per Google Finance, Wayfair is "transforming the way people shop for their homes. The Company has created online destinations for the home. Through its e-commerce business model, the Company offers visually inspiring browsing, compelling merchandising, easy product discovery and prices for over seven million products from over 7,000 suppliers across five brands: Wayfair.com, Joss & Main, AllModern, DwellStudio and Birch Lane. The Company’s technology and data focus facilitates critical e-commerce capabilities, such as shopping experiences across its five brands, consumer targeting and personalization, and anytime, anywhere shopping across its Websites, mobile-optimized Websites and mobile applications.The Company offers consumers a one-stop shop with home goods pricing designed to be on par with big box retailers and a merchandising experience designed to be on par with specialty retailers."

Larry Robbins: Doesn't Believe This is a Change in Tone in the Market

Glenview Capital's Larry Robbins sat down for an interview with CNBC recently and here's what he had to say:

They're looking at what's happening to the economy and to liquidity.  They don't think there's a systemic issue out there.

He says, "Our own checks with companies indicate that the economy is doing reasonably well in the US, clearly some challenges overseas.  We don't believe that this a change in tone in the market that's likely to be here to stay.  We believe that this is a transitory risk problem."

Robbins also pointed to all the good news coming the US consumer's way recently: wages up, price of oil down.

Glenview took down exposure in the second week of September (net exposure) due to the laundry list of risk items.  They've started to re-risk about halfway to where they were before, as buying opportunities have presented themselves recently.   He argued that certain stock movements have outdone their fundamentals.

He specifically pointed out the rental car industry as being annihilated recently and called it a rational oligopoly as 3 players control 95% market share.  He said the Hertz (HTZ) CEO change has happened and likes Avis Budget's (CAR) opportunity ahead.  Robbins also said the travel industry has been impacted by the ebola scare, but didn't name any companies specifically.


Embedded below are the videos of Robbins' CNBC interview:

Video 1


Video 2


You can view some of Glenview's portfolio activity here.

JANA Partners Adds to Walgreen Stake

Barry Rosenstein's activist hedge fund JANA Partners has filed a Form 4 with the SEC regarding their stake in Walgreen (WAG).  Per the filing, JANA now owns 13.75 million shares of WAG.

They were out buying on October 10th, 13th, and 14th at prices of $62.80, $62.02, and $60.68.  They purchased 1.25 million shares in total recently.  Rosenstein is also on WAG's board of directors.

Shares of WAG were hit in August after the company announced they'd be completing the Alliance Boots merger but would not be doing a tax inversion, something many investors were hoping for.

You can view additional recent portfolio activity from JANA here.

ValueAct Again Buys Allison Transmission Shares

Jeff Ubben's activist firm ValueAct Capital has filed yet another Form 4 with the SEC regarding their stake in Allison Transmission (ALSN).  Per the filing, ValueAct has purchased an additional 200,000 ALSN shares.

They were buying on October 10th at around $27.62 and October 13th around $27.09.  In total, their position size is now over 19.05 million shares.

As we've highlighted previously, the most recent issue of our Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter analyzed ALSN if you want to read up on the bull/bear thesis.

Balyasny Asset Management Boosts Churchill Downs Position

Dmitry Balyasny's firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding their stake in Churchill Downs (CHDN).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.24% of the company with 909,724 shares.

This marks an increase of 285,477 shares in their position size since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was required due to activity on October 7th.

Per Google Finance, Churchill Downs is "a diversified provider of pari-mutuel horseracing, casino gaming, entertainment, and is the country’s premier source of online account wagering on horseracing events. The Company offers gaming products through its casino in Mississippi, its slot and video poker operations in Louisiana and its slot and poker operations in Florida."

Eminence Capital Discloses FNFV Group Stake

Per a 13G filed with the SEC, Ricky Sandler's hedge fund firm Eminence Capital has revealed a new position in FNFV Group (FNFV).  They now own 6.1% of shares via their 5.55 million share position.  The filing was made due to activity on September 30th.

FNFV was spun-off from Fidelity National Financial (FNF) this summer.  Each 'old' share of FNF was converted into a new share of FNF and 0.3333 of a share of the newly created FNFV.  The latter is a tracking stock, and that's what Eminence has now reported a stake in.

We've also posted other recent portfolio activity from Eminence here.

Per Yahoo Finance, FNFV stands for Fidelity National Financial Ventures and it operates as the investment arm of Fidelity National Financial. 

What We're Reading ~ Analytical Links 10/15/14

Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values [Lawrence Cunningham]

On spectrum value and a case for Verizon [Bronte Capital]

Importance of ROIC: A glance at the last 42 years of Wells Fargo [Base Hit Investing]

Building the perfect investor [Millennial Invest]

A look at the potential future for the cable industry [GlennChan]

Pay TV's new worry: 'shaving' the cord [WSJ]

Six figure incomes - and facing financial ruin [WSJ]

T-Mobile's stock slump offers buying opportunity [Yahoo]

On how Buffett's portfolio managers are faring [Fortune]

Why millennials are shunning cars [Washington Post]

The freelance economy and word of mouth [HBR]

Family Office Book for Free

The Family Offices Group has released a 35-page PDF book on single and multi-family offices which includes 2 free chapters of The Family Office Book: Investing Capital for the Ultra-Affluent (Wiley).

To download this free book, simply visit: http://FamilyOffices.com/Family-Office-Book

You may know our brand from our operation of the #1 most visited family office website, http://FamilyOffices.com or from hearing about us hosting a 3-day Family Office Super Summit on November 11-13 in Miami, featuring more than 50 family office speakers.  To learn more visit: http://WilsonConferences.com/Super

Hope you enjoy the book and hopefully we can meet in person at our Family Office Super Summit in Miami,

Richard C. Wilson
CEO & Founder
Family Offices Group
Phone: (212) 729-5067
E-Mail: Clients@FamilyOffices.com
http://FamilyOffices.com
http://WilsonConferences.com/Super

Einhorn's Greenlight Capital Files 13D on Civeo

David Einhorn's hedge fund firm Greenlight Capital has filed a 13D on shares of Civeo (CVEO).  Per the filing, they now own 9.99% of the company with over 10.65 million shares.

This means they've boosted their holdings by over 4.5 million shares since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on September 30th but they've continued to buy into October.  They've purchased shares in the $12.37 range recently.

Greenlight originally received shares of CVEO in the spin-off from Oil States International (OIS), which they also own.

Einhorn's 13D indicates that they've had conversations with the board and made the following suggestions: the company should take on leverage to make its capital structure more appropriate for a real estate company, the company should aggressively return capital to shareholders via dividends, and the company should replace its CEO.

For more from this hedge fund, check out Einhorn's recent comments at the Great Investors' Best Ideas conference this week.

ValueAct Buys More Allison Transmission

Earlier this week, we highlighted that Jeff Ubben's hedge fund firm ValueAct Capital was out buying some Allison Transmission (ALSN).  With the recent market weakness, that trend continued over the past few days.

Per a Form 4 filed with the SEC, ValueAct Capital has disclosed they've purchased 275,000 additional shares of ALSN at prices ranging from $27.64 to $27.86 on October 7th, 8th, 9th.  After these buys, they now own 18.85 million ALSN shares.

ALSN was just featured in the equity analysis section of our Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter recently.  Sign up here to immediately catch up on the name and the investment thesis.

Baupost Group Boosts Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Stake

Seth Klarman's investment firm Baupost Group has filed an amended 13G regarding their position in Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (KERX).  Per the filing, Baupost now owns 19.93% of the company with 18.3 million shares.

They've boosted their position size by over 7.76 million shares since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was required due to portfolio activity on September 30th.

You can view other portfolio activity from Baupost here.

Per Google Finance, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals "is focused on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of renal disease. The Company is developing KRX-0502, an investigational, ferric citrate, oral compound that binds to phosphate. Under the name Zerenex, KRX-0502 has completed a United States-based Phase III clinical program for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis."

Eminence Capital Increases TIBCO Software Position

Ricky Sandler's hedge fund firm Eminence Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding their stake in TIBCO Software (TIBX).  Per the filing, Eminence now owns 5.4% of the company with over 8.81 million shares.

This means they've increased their position size by over 3.52 million shares since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was required due to portfolio activity on September 29th.

We've posted up additional recent portfolio activity from Eminence here.

Per Google Finance, TIBCO Software is "a provider of middleware and infrastructure software. The Company’s standards-based software platform enables customers to create flexible, event-driven applications from infrastructure and deliver real-time, actionable insights. It offers a range of software products. It's products are licensed by companies all over the globe in diverse industries, such as financial services, telecommunications, energy, retail, life sciences, manufacturing, transportation, government, insurance, and business services sectors. The Company’s software is capable of correlating, in real-time, information about an organization’s operations and performance with information about expected behavior and business rules."

What We're Reading ~ Hedge Fund Links 10/10/14

Inside the biggest ever hedge fund scandal [New Yorker]

Elliott Management pushes EMC to spin off VMWare [ValueWalk]

Hedge fund dropped hints about its big short [Bloomberg View]

Carl Icahn's latest letter to Apple [Carl Icahn]

Perry Capital appeals dismissal over Fannie, Freddie [HedgeWorld]

Paulson feels pressure to reduce fees [WSJ]

Everest's Dimitrijevic on emerging and frontier markets [ii alpha]

50% Discount to Next Week's Family Office Capital Raising Workshop in NYC

On Friday October 17th at the Harvard Club of New York, fund managers, investor relations  professionals, and business executives will gather for a full-day intensive workshop on raising capital from family offices and HNW investors. http://WilsonConferences.com/Family-Capital

Richard C. Wilson, author of The Family Office Book (Wiley) and founder of the Family Offices   Group, will lead a day of live training that will teach you how to attract family offices and HNW investors, expand your capital base to single and multi-family offices, and educate you on the in’s and out’s of this growing investor group. Be sure and reserve your seat for the Alternative Investment Networking Breakfast taking place at the Harvard Club on October 16th, too.

Market Folly as a media partner for this event has enabled the first 10 professionals who register a 50% discount, so you can attend this catered, full-day capital raising seminar for $295. This offer is only for the first 10 readers who use this code "300" on the registration form: http://WilsonConferences.com/Family-Capital

Past Attendees of our Capital Raising and Networking Breakfasts include: BNP Paribas, Jefferies, Bloomberg, PWC, the Rohatyn Group, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, First Republic, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Invesco, and leading family offices, private equity firms, and hedge funds.

Workshop Chairman: Richard C. Wilson has raised over $200 million, he is founder of the #1 largest family office association in the world, and is CEO of Wilson Holding Company and Billionaire Family Office. Richard is one of the best-known capital raising authorities in the world with over 20 million views of his articles, videos, white papers, webinars, and books, and a weekly email reach of over 1 million professionals, he has developed the Wilson brand into a household name over the past 8 years. Richard has written extensively on capital raising and marketing (including two bestselling books), he has trained over 10,000 investment professionals through his speeches, workshops, and training programs, and he works every day with ultra-wealthy investors, family offices, and $1B+ families.

Conference Details: http://WilsonConferences.com/Family-Capital

Where: Harvard Club of New York

Limited Seating: Due to fully catered breakfast and lunch at the event seating is strictly limited, please reserve your seat now if you would like to attend.

When: October 17, 2014

Why: In order to successfully raise capital from family offices, you need to understand these investors, how they make allocation decisions, and what they are seeking in an investment partner. This is the perfect workshop for anyone looking to partner with family offices and improve your institutional capital raising strategies. Download the brochure: http://WilsonConferences.com/Capital-Raising-Workshop-Series.pdf

Register: To reserve your seat before they run out please call Yvette or Doug at (212) 729-5067  or complete the 1 minute registration form here: http://WilsonConferences.com/Family-Capital and don’t forget to use code 300 to save $300 off your registration.

Like all of our events we 100% guarantee that you will love the workshop and get far more than your money's worth of value from it or we will refund you instantly upon request.

Richard C. Wilson
(212) 729-5067
Wilson Conferences
Family Offices Group Association
3300 NW 185th Avenue Suite #108
Portland, Oregon 97229
Team@WilsonConferences.com
http://WilsonConferences.com/Super

What We're Reading ~ Analytical Links 10/8/14

On avoiding value traps [Young Money]

Longs and investing from a short seller's perspective [LongShortTrader]

On buybacks: they are big and they are back [Aswath Damodaran]

A look at Adidas [Value & Opportunity]

An interview with Jack Schwager [Bloomberg View]

The world's greatest stockpicker? [Washington Post]

Wealth without workers, workers without wealth [Economist]

On Bond King Bill Gross' next act [Barrons]

How Visa is fighting back as transactions go digital [Bloomberg]

HP announces breakup plan [NYTimes]

Shorting GoPro is one pricey bet [WSJ]

Inside the Koch Brothers' empire [Rolling Stone]

Great Investors' Best Ideas Dallas 2014 Notes: Ackman, Einhorn, Perry & More

The 2014 edition of Great Investors Best Ideas Dallas took place this week benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation.


2014 GIBI Dallas Notes



Bill Ackman (Pershing Square):  He was positive on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FNMA & FMCC), which have obviously seen volatility as of late.  They own 10% of each and are quite bullish.  They've been buying both and say private property can't be taken by the government.  Pershing owns common versus the preferred and think it's just as good of an investment.  Thinks there's an opportunity for settlement.


David Einhorn (Greenlight Capital):  He continues to like Micron (MU) and Apple (AAPL), and also really likes Greek banks.  AAPL/MU his 2 largest stakes.  Says DRAM has been a bad business for a while and should make $4 per share as the industry is only 3 players now after consolidation.  Likes Greek banks as they're at or below book value.  Also likes shorting French government bonds: Marine Le Pen wants to leave the Euro and bonds yield around 1%.


Richard Perry (Perry Capital):  Based on his pitch that was circulated a few months ago, Perry likes the idea of containerboard sponsored MLPs (they've owned International Paper (IP), KapStone Paper (KS), and Rock-Tenn (RKT)).  He also likes tax loss candidates of AIG (AIG) and Ally Financial (ALLY).  ALLY = Trading below book value but should trade 1x at least.  Government still owns 15%, last sold some @ $25, trades $22.50 now, should finish selling at year-end.  Also says Perry is appealing the Fannie/Freddie ruling and that this particular judge has been overturned a bunch.


T. Boone Pickens (BP Capital): He was positive on Marathon Oil (MRO) and Clean Energy (CLNE) again.  2 of his picks last year were up (FANG and BAS), except for CLNE which is down big.  He owns 20m shares, could be biased "pride of ownership".  Says he thinks we drill too much and US is only place that's growing production.  Likes MRO because it's cheaper on EV/EBITDA than peers like XOM and OXY.  Says we won't see $10 natural gas in his lifetime.


Michael Price (MFP Investors): 2 ideas (1 old, 1 new): Still likes Dolby (DLB, old idea).  55% of the company is owned by kids of the company.  PC sales dropped but have recovered.  Company can see new growth in India/China.  Undervalued stock, attractive to private equity and Apple.  Also likes FMC Corp (FMC), new idea.  Stock whacked on overreaction that company won't be splitting into two parts.  Thinks it trades $120 or so in next few years.


Tom Russo (Gardner Russo & Gardner): They like family controlled businesses.  Look for 50 cent dollars.  Focuses on global consumer stocks.  He was positive on Cie Financiere Richemont SA.


Paul Isaac (Arbiter Partners):  He likes Credit Agricole Regional Banks.  CMO, CRTO, CCN, CAF, CIV, CRSU.  40% price to tangible book value.  Well capitalized and inexpensive on relative basis.  Shorted French 10 yr bonds to hedge as there is euro risk.  Also pitched Japanese General Trading Companies.  8001.JP, 8002.JP, 8031.JP, etc.  Some 70% tangible book value, trading 6x PE.


Bill Miller (LMM): Buy the homebuilders as he likes the sector in general.  Specifically mentioned KB Homes (KBH), Lennar (LEN) and Pulte (PHM).  Market at new highs yet builders aren't even though they've got a nice clean path for earnings growth.  Says employment is the key and housing starts are improving.  He also said he likes Intrexon (XON).   This is a bet on management, who owns a huge chunk of the company.  Big upside but also could lose half your investment.


Ray Nixon (Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss):  He's positive on Q4 tax loss candidates, noting that many mutual funds end fiscally in October so there's various pressures that month, not to mention that it's one of the worst months historically.  Recommends buying across October, November and into December.  Buy a basket of tax loss names.  Pitched Mattel (MAT):  Stock's down over 30%, losing Disney license in 2016, losing shelf space, missed the past 3 quarters.  He says toy industry is growing 5%, likes the dividend yield, and points to $1b in cash on balance sheet.  They've started buying shares.

Ackman's Pershing Square Acquires More Platform Specialty Products

Bill Ackman's hedge fund firm Pershing Square Capital Management has filed a 13D on shares of Platform Specialty Products (PAH).  Per the filing, Pershing now owns 26.4% of the company with over 42.7 million shares.

This means Ackman has purchased over 9.4 million PAH shares since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on October 3rd.

Per Yahoo Finance, "Platform Specialty Products Corporation develops, produces, and markets a range of specialty chemical and printing products in the Americas, Asia, and Europe."

Invest For Kids Chicago Next Month: Ackman, Robbins, Kuhn, McGuire & More

The sixth annual Invest For Kids Chicago is coming up next month.  This Investable Ideas Conference benefits local children and features a heavy hitting line-up of top hedge fund speakers.  You can learn more about the conference and register here.

This year's event benefits Chicago Scholars, Intrinsic Schools, LEARN Charter School Network, North Chicago Community Partners, OneGoal, and Reading in Motion.  The co-founders of the event underwrite all the costs so 100% of the money raised goes directly to charity.


Event Details

Date: November 6th, 2014
Location: Harris Theater, Chicago, IL
Time: 1:30 - 5:30 pm


Speakers List

- Bill Ackman, Pershing Square
- Larry Robbins, Glenview Capital
- Steve Kuhn, Pine River Capital
- Mick McGuire, Marcato Capital
- Michael Sacks, Grosvenor Capital
- Wally Weitz, Weitz Investment Management
- Nehal Chopra, Tiger Ratan
- Mason Hawkins, Southeastern Asset Management
- Sam Zell, Equity Group Management
- Jonathan Kolatch, Redwood Capital
- Mike Wilkins, Kingford Capital
- Tim Hurd, BlueSpruce Investments
- Nancy Prial, Essex Investment Management


As you can see, some top hedge fund managers will be sharing their latest investment ideas. If you're in the Midwest, you don't want to miss it.

Last year's event had over 1000 attendees and raised almost $1.4 million for charities.  To attend Invest For Kids next month, simply click here to register.

Luxor Capital Adds To Conn's Position

Hedge fund firm Luxor Capital filed a 13D with the SEC regarding their position in Conn's (CONN).  Per the filing, Luxor now owns 20.9% of the company with over 7.58 million shares. 

This means they've boosted their position size by over 4.64 million shares since the end of the second quarter.

Their 13D contains the standard boilerplate that they don't have any plans currently but may engage with management.  The filing was made due to activity on September 29th.

Conn's recently announced it is exploring strategic alternatives.  They're entertaining ideas such as separating its retail and credit businesses, slowing store openings and returning capital to investors, or selling the company.

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital was also a top shareholder of the company as of the end of Q2.

Per Google Finance, Conn's is " is a specialty retailer of durable consumer products, and it also provides consumer credit to support its customers’ purchases of the products that it offer. The Company derives revenue primarily from two sources: retail sales and delivery of consumer electronics, home appliances, furniture and mattresses, lawn and garden equipment and repair service agreements, and its in-house consumer credit program, including sales of related credit insurance products. Through its in-house consumer credit programs, it provides financing. In addition, it offers third-party payment options through GE Capital, for customers with high credit scores, and RAC Acceptance, a rent-to-own payment plan for customers that do not qualify for the other options it offer."