In this article, we discuss the 5 best stocks to buy now according to British billionaire Chris Hohn. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Chris Hohn’s investment philosophy, hedge fund returns and history, go directly to 12 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to British Billionaire Chris Hohn.
5. Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)
TCI Fund Management’s Stake Value: $4.51 billion
Percentage of TCI Fund Management’s 13F Portfolio: 10.15%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Then there’s Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI), in which TCI Fund Management is the largest Q4 2021 shareholder, owning 36.7 million shares worth $4.51 billion which amounted to a 10.15% slice of its total holdings. The firm deals in the rail and transportation business in Canada, and also offers a stable yield of 1.85% as of April 22.
JPMorgan analyst Brian Ossenbeck on April 8 maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating on Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) shares, and decreased the price target to C$159 from C$171 on the back of truckload conditions considerably deteriorating in the first half of March. Earnings per share were recorded at $1.35 in the fourth quarter for Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI), which beat consensus estimates by $0.15. $2.97 billion in quarterly revenue was also above analysts’ forecasts by $78.36 million.
Out of all the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 42 reported holding stakes in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) during the fourth quarter with a combined value of $7.7 billion. The same number of hedge funds were long on the company shares a quarter ago as well.
4. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
TCI Fund Management’s Stake Value: $5.00 billion
Percentage of TCI Fund Management’s 13F Portfolio: 11.26%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 142
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a payments technology company based in California. In the fourth quarter, Billionaire Chris Hohn upped his stake in the firm by 16% to comprise of more than 23 million shares valued at $5 billion. This holding represented 11.26% of TCI Fund Management’s total portfolio.
On February 9, Erste Group analyst Hans Engel upgraded Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’, whilst noting that the firm’s transaction volume should increase this year as international travel continues to recover.
In Q4 2021, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) recorded a revenue of $7.06 billion, which outperformed estimates by $265 million and also showed an increase of 24.1% year-on-year. EPS stood at $1.81 which also beat consensus estimates by $0.11.
142 hedge funds were long Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in the fourth quarter, with aggregate positions worth $29.3 billion. In comparison, 143 hedge funds reported bullish bets on the company shares a quarter ago, with combined stakes worth $26.16 billion.
Wedgewood Partners, an investment firm, talked about many stocks in its Q1 2022 investor letter and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was one of them. Here’s what the fund said:
“Visa continued to benefit from strong consumer spending as well as a recovery in crossborder payment volumes, more recently driven by the return of travelers. While the emergence of the “Omicron” variant of COVID early in the quarter posed a risk to this travel recovery, it proved short-lived, with most of Europe, North America, and Latin American reengaging in cross-border travel. Visa continues to extend its network to all comers. By processing over $10 trillion in volume per year, Visa has unparallel scale and, as a result, can sell this scale to its customers at very attractive economics. For example, “FinTech” businesses will often charge customers upwards of 3-5% to transact, while Visa takes mere basis points on most transactions, despite enabling service levels historically reserved for only the largest financial institutions. After adding to Visa late last year, we are most pleased that Visa is back to one of our top 5 holdings.”
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
TCI Fund Management’s Stake Value: $5.61 billion
Percentage of TCI Fund Management’s 13F Portfolio: 12.62%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is up next on Chris Hohn’s list of top stocks to buy. The tech giant was found in the portfolio of 262 hedge funds in the fourth quarter of 2021, cementing its status as one of the stocks most sought-after by investors. TCI Fund Management held 16.68 million shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of the fourth quarter, worth $5.61 billion and taking up 12.62% of its overall holdings.
On April 19, Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin kept an ‘Overweight’ rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares, and lowered the price target to $400 from $425. The analyst views Microsoft shares as one of the best ways to play the broad secular long-term trend of digitization, and sees it positioned exceptionally well to take advantage in the current environment.
For the fourth quarter, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted an EPS of $2.48, beating estimates by $0.16. The company raked in $51.73 billion in revenue for the quarter, which beat estimates by $938.45 million and saw an increase of more than 20% from the year-ago quarter.
2. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)
TCI Fund Management’s Stake Value: $6.38 billion
Percentage of TCI Fund Management’s 13F Portfolio: 14.37%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a broadband internet and cable operator based in the United States. Chris Hohn’s fund owned 9.8 million shares of the firm in the fourth quarter at a price tag of $6.38 billion which amounted to 14.37% of the fund’s total holdings. This also makes TCI Fund Management the largest stakeholder in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) as of Q4 2021.
Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett on April 19 initiated coverage of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $732 price target.
As of the fourth quarter, Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) reported earnings per share of $8.93, which beat consensus estimates by $1.85. The firm posted $13.21 billion in quarterly revenue which grew 4.66% year-on-year, but fell below estimates by $33.55 million.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, 73 hedge funds reported bullish bets on Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), with combined positions worth $16.59 billion.
Investment firm ClearBridge Investments talked about Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) in its Q1 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the fund said:
“We also added to Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR), a historically strong performer that has faced headwinds recently due to a deceleration in broadband subscriber growth following a period of robust results during the pandemic.”
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
TCI Fund Management’s Stake Value: $8.54 billion
Percentage of TCI Fund Management’s 13F Portfolio: 19.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
The largest holding of British investor Chris Hohn is Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), in which he owns 2.95 million shares worth $8.54 billion, representing more than 19% of his overall portfolio as of the fourth quarter of 2021. Out of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 158 in total were bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in Q4 2021, as compared to 156 hedge funds a quarter ago.
On April 19, Citi analyst Ronald Josey upgraded Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’, and bumped the price target to $3,500 from $2,965. He sees the internet sector showing signs of healthy growth which is sustained by multiple vectors as online consumer engagement continues to grow and evolve.
Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) EPS for the fourth quarter was recorded at $30.69, above analysts’ forecasts by $3.41. Quarterly revenue of $75.33 billion increased 32.39% year-on-year, and also beat consensus estimates by $3.5 billion.
Here is what Ensemble Capital had to say about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Google (6.6% weight in the Fund): Google is one of the most extraordinary businesses of the digital age. Its mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” This is such a broad organizing principle for a company whose value is built on doing just that. When you think about the mass adoption of the Internet, smartphones, social and digital media, and e-commerce among billions of users every day, and the exponential growth of data that has brought, we all know how valuable Google’s role in collecting, organizing, and filtering all that information has become in our daily lives.
NVidia’s CEO Jensen Huang put the challenge really well in an interview with Tech Analyst Ben Thompson recently:
“We know that there are a trillion things on the Internet and the number things on the Internet is large and expanding incredibly fast, and yet we have this little, tiny personal computer called a phone… how do we possibly figure out of the trillion things in the internet what we want to see on our little tiny phone?
Well, there needs to be a filter in between… basically an AI, a recommender system. A recommender that figures out based on the nature of the content, the characteristics of the content, the features of the content, based on your implicit and your explicit [preferences], find a way through all of that to predict what you would like to see.
I mean, that’s a miracle! That’s really quite a miracle to be able to do that at scale for everything from movies and books and music and news and videos and you name it.”
While Huang was talking about the role of artificial intelligence more generally amidst the data explosion, it’s hard not to think of Google as most fitting the role of the Internet’s leading “recommender system,” with its de facto role as the gateway to the Internet. In fact, it’s no coincidence that Google is a leader in AI technology, which it applies across most all of its services…” (Click here to see the full text)
You can also take a look at 15 Biggest Food Companies In The World and 10 Extreme Dividend Stocks with Huge Upside.
