Genworth Financial (GNW), Avon Products (AVP) Just Some of the Stocks That Powered Shah Capital to Splendid Quarter

After a horrendous three-year run, Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) shares have turned the corner this year, gaining over 45%. Most of those gains came during the third quarter, proving to be a coup for Shah Capital, which owned 2.74 million shares of the stock at the end of June. Shah Capital believes the run isn’t yet done, as it raised its stake in Avon by another 13% during the third quarter.

A total of 25 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) as of June 30, down by 11% from a quarter earlier. Value investment firm Yacktman Asset Management, managed by Donald Yacktman, held the number one position in Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) at the end of June, with a $96.8 million position in the stock. Sitting at #2 was Barington Capital Group, led by James A. Mitarotonda, holding a $27.7 million position; the fund had 28.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money with similar optimism included Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies and Wallace Weitz’s Wallace R. Weitz & Co.

Lastly is Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB), which was a new addition to Shah Capital’s portfolio in the second quarter. Its position stood at 512,000 shares on June 30, and it hiked that to 700,000 shares as of September 30. Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB)’s regulatory issues dragged its shares down by about 5% during the third quarter, but they have made half of that decline back in the fourth quarter. It could’ve been a lot worse for the stock, but fears have subsided that  Deutsche Bank is in any trouble of going under.

15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock on June 30, a 50% jump from the end of the first quarter of 2016. Mike Masters’ Masters Capital Management has a large call position in Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) worth close to $13.7 million as of June 30. Other members of the smart money that are bullish on the investment bank include Thomas G. Maheras’ Tegean Capital Management, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Disclosure: None