Top Small-Cap Picks of Expert Investor Peter Schliemann

In the meantime, Rutabaga Capital Management increased its equity stake in Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) by 180,750 shares during the most recent quarter. This move enlarged the hedge fund’s overall holding in the company to 1.67 million shares, which are worth $28.84 million as of March 31. Harsco is among the small-cap laggards over the course of this year, as its stock has dipped by 10% year-to-date. However,  it’s worth keeping an eye on the company and its progress as it seeks a turnaround; Harsco started the implementation of its Project Orion in 2014 so as to improve its core processes and increase efficiency, thus the company expects to generate savings of $37 million by the end of 2015 as a result of actions initiated under the above-mentioned project. Joe Huber’s Huber Capital Management and Alexander Roepers’ Atlantic Investment Management are among the largest investors in Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC), with holdings of 1.83 million shares and 940,410 shares, respectively.

Lastly, Schliemann’s Rutabaga Capital sold 0.25% of its stake in Globe Specialty Metals Inc. (NASDAQ:GSM), ending the quarter with 1.51 million shares valued at $28.53 million. The shares of Globe Specialty Metals have grown over 8% year-to-date and are currently trading around $18.70 per share. At the beginning of the current year, the company announced its merger with Grupo FerroAtlantica, which is a leading European producer of silicon metal, manganese, and ferrosilicon alloys. It is expected the merger will generate $95 million in synergies, so the deal might be quite handy for the two companies. More specifically, the deal could provide $65 million in cost synergies and $30 million in financing synergies. Within our database, Clifton S. Robbins’ Blue Harbour Group is by far the largest shareholder of Globe Specialty Metals Inc. (NASDAQ:GSM), owning 5.78 million shares.

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