Visteon Corp (VC), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF) Among Billionaire Steve Cohen’s Small Cap Picks

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) was another of SAC’s small cap picks, with the filing disclosing ownership of 3 million shares. As a producer of iron ore and metallurgical coal, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) is dependent on demand for steel; with steel demand weak recently, the stock is down 70% in the last year and over 20% of the float is held short. Multiple insiders were selling shares of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) in early March, though these sales took place well above where the stock is currently trading (see a history of insider sales at Cliffs) and insider selling is often rational as it can increase diversification.

The fund moved heavily into Owens Corning (NYSE:OC), building a small position as of the end of September up to 2.7 million shares by the end of 2012. The provider of glass fiber and other building materials is another bullish play, since it depends on construction activity: the stock’s beta is 1.8. We’d note that revenue was actually down slightly in the fourth quarter of 2012 versus a year earlier. Analyst consensus has the stock trading at 12 times forward earnings estimates with a five-year PEG ratio of 0.8. Blue Ridge Capital, managed by Tiger Cub John Griffin, owned 6.7 million shares of Owens Corning.

The 13F showed SAC with 3.9 million shares of NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR) at the beginning of January. Billionaire David Einhorn also likes NCR, and his hedge fund Greenlight Capital was buying shares to close December with over 10 million shares (research more stocks Greenlight was buying). NCR, which provides kiosks and terminals such as ATMs and point of sale terminals (it was formerly known as National Cash Register), did not have a good performance in 2012 in terms of net income but analysts are optimistic. Their projections imply a forward earnings multiple of 9 and a five-year PEG ratio of 0.7.

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.