Chuck Royce's Firm Curbs 3 Positions in September

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. (NASDAQ:JBSS), Village Super Market Inc. (NASDAQ:VLGEA) and Saga Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA).

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.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with JBSS. Click here to check it out.

• JBSS 30-Year Financial Data

• The intrinsic value of JBSS

• Peter Lynch Chart of JBSS

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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.

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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.

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Other gurus with holdings in John B Sanfillippo & Son include Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) and fellow 2019 Value Conference speaker Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Gurus with holdings in Village include Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)' Renaissance Technologies and Gabelli.

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Saga

Royce & Associates sold 187,167 shares of Saga, reducing the position 37.28%. Shares traded around $29.70 on Sept. 30.

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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.

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Disclosure: No positions.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with JBSS. Click here to check it out.

• JBSS 30-Year Financial Data

• The intrinsic value of JBSS

• Peter Lynch Chart of JBSS