Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (CBI), Penn National Gaming, Inc (PENN): BAM’s Best First Quarter Picks

Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management (BAM) is one of the 500 elite hedge funds we track at Insider Monkey, and for good reason. Its 13F equity portfolio returned at least 14 percentage points in just one quarter alone last year, and this year, many of its stock positions are intriguing, to say the last. Now, in case you weren’t aware, there are material advantages that can be gained from paying attention to hedge fund sentiment. Learn more here.

Number one

The hedge fund disclosed that its largest first quarter holding was in Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE:CBI). BAM reported owning 3,137,954 shares of the company, worth $194.9 million. In the previous filing, the stake represented 3,536,243 shares, valued at $163.9 million. A Dutch company, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE:CBI) has a market cap of $6.18 billion, second largest among general contractors, and has returned nearly 30% in 2013. Interestingly, Warren Buffett is also bullish on CBI, as the engineering and construction services company has a strong foothold in the energy and electric industries, especially post-Shaw Group acquisition.

A REIT adventure

In second place is Penn National Gaming, Inc (NASDAQ:PENN), represented in the Balyasny Asset Management 13F by a $124.8 million stake, which involves 2,293,734 shares, up from 2,053,201 shares, worth $100.8 million held at the end of December. The operator of gaming and pari-mutuel facilities has a year-to-date return of above 15% and sports a forward P/E of 20.9x. Aside from being a decent momentum play, the primary bullish thesis behind Penn National Gaming, Inc (NASDAQ:PENN)is its upcoming REIT spinoff (named Gaming and Leisure Properties) that is predicted to give existing stockholders shares a one-to-one basis in addition to a special dividend. You don’t have to say that twice to get the attention of many REIT-lovers.

The best of the rest

The hedge fund also reported owning 1,575,240 shares in Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ), the value of the holding amounting to $81.6 million. It is a new position in the equity portfolio of BAM. Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) has a year-to-date return above 5% and is trading at a forward P/E of 21.6x. With a market cap around $21.5 billion, Williams isn’t an under-the-radar play, but it does represent solid value, with price and book multiples below industry averages.