Bernard Selz’s Top New Picks For Q3

Selz Capital acquired 130,000 shares of Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NASDAQ:SAVE) valued at $8.07 million during the second quarter. The position amounted to 1.46% of the fund’s total portfolio value. Spirit Airlines, Inc. is an airline company which operates an all-Airbus fleet, flying more than 300 daily flights to 56 destinations in the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Its ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) business model provides low base fares with a range of optional services. It has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion. In its first quarter earnings report the company’s profit growth was in-line with analysts’ expectations. But for the second quarter, the company expects lower operating income relative to last year’s strong performance, as its operations were negatively impacted by numerous cancellations related to adverse weather. The top shareholders of Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NASDAQ:SAVE) as of March 31, among the smart money we track, were Jacob Doft‘s Highline Capital Management, which opened a new position of just over 900,000 shares during the quarter, and Robert Polak’s Anchor Bolt Capital.

Selz Capital LLC had 700,000 shares of Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI) with a value of $5.84 million at the end of second quarter, another major new position for the fund, amounting to 1.06% of its total portfolio. Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI) is a specialty finance company, which through its subsidiaries, is engaged in originating, acquiring, and servicing loans that finance taxicab medallions and various types of commercial businesses. It has a market cap of $2.21 billion. The company reported a 4% increase in profit for the first quarter of 2015 compared to the first quarter of last year, though its profit in the first quarter was mostly realized through gains earned by the selling of stakes in Generation Outdoor and Medallion Hamptons Holding. The realized gain was $0.32 per share during the quarter. Another prominent shareholder of the stock is Harvest Capital Strategies, founded by Joseph A. Jolson. The fund has 392,881 shares of the company as of March 31.

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