Steven Romick Buys Expedia, Adds to Axalta Coating Systems and WPP Plc
- By Holly LaFon
Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), portfolio manager for the FPA Cresent Fund, acquired Expedia Inc. (EXPE) and added to stakes in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (AXTA) and WPP PLC (WPP.L) in the fourth quarter, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks data from Wednesday.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with LSE:WPP. Click here to check it out.
The intrinsic value of LSE:WPP
As a value investor, Romick"s stock-selection strategies involves looking for securities that trader lower than his estimate of their worth and waiting for the price to increase. Stocks the fund chooses are typically market leaders with histories of long-term profitability, strong balance sheets and proven management teams, according to fund documents. Romick may also opt for stocks in out-of-favor sectors.
Since its 1993 inception, the fund has returned 10.36% on average annually versus 9.44% for the S&P 500.
As evidenced by his one stock buy in the fourth quarter, Romick said in his third-quarter letter that he found few attractive possibilities in the market.
"We typically only chase price when it is falling. Today though, a world awash in capital has found investors willing to pay ever higher prices. We, therefore, prefer to maintain Crescent"s conservative posture," he said.
New Buy: Expedia
Romick purchased 2,034,903 shares of Expedia, a 2.39% portfolio weight. The stock traded in the fourth quarter at an average price of $130 per share.
Expedia Inc. has a market cap of $19.39 billion; its shares were traded around $127.18 on Wednesday with a P/E ratio of 50.27 and P/S ratio of 2.02. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Expedia Inc. is 0.91%. The forward dividend yield of Expedia Inc. is 0.94%. Expedia Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 18.30% over the past five years.
Add: Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.
Romick increased his position in Axalta Coating Systems by 41.82%, or 902,279 shares, to 3,059,930 shares. The stock traded in the fourth quarter at an average price of $32 per share.
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a market cap of $7.93 billion; its shares were traded around $32.55 on Wednesday with a P/E ratio of 130.2 and P/S ratio of 1.89.
Add: WPP PLC
Romick increased his position in WPP PLC by 16.18%, of 2,084,933 shares, to 14,974,693 shares. The stock traded in the fourth quarter at an average price of 13.34 pounds per share.
WPP PLC has a market cap of 17.02 billion pounds; its shares were traded around 13.40 pounds on Wednesday with a P/E ratio of 9.85 and P/S ratio of 1.21. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of WPP PLC is 4.46%. The forward dividend yield of WPP PLC is 3.39%. WPP PLC had an annual average earnings growth of 7.3% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated WPP PLC the business predictability rank of 5-star.
See Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio)"s portfolio here.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with LSE:WPP. Click here to check it out.
The intrinsic value of LSE:WPP
