Below is the list of 5 best value stocks to buy right now according to value investor Martin D. Sass. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Sass’ history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, go directly to the 10 Best Value Stocks to Buy Right Now According to Value Investor Martin D. Sass.
5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
Value: $25,628,000
Percent of Martin Sass’ 13F Portfolio: 5.49%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 179
The technology giant Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) also gained value investor Martin D. Sass’s confidence. His hedge fund raised its stake in Google by 36% to 5.49% of the 13F portfolio. It is the fifth-largest stock holding of the MD Sass portfolio at the end of December. Google stock price saw a strong backing from improving prospects for ad revenue in the year ahead. Its revenue diversification strategy has also been adding to investors’ sentiments.
Our calculations show that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) ranks 4th in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds.
1 Main Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks including Alphabet in the first quarter investor letter. Here is what 1 Main Capital stated:
“Alphabet Inc (GOOG), one of the largest and most talked about companies on earth, currently presents an incredibly attractive opportunity, especially relative to its risk. While some may be skeptical that an emerging fund such as ours could have any edge at all in owning GOOG, that is precisely our edge.
In other words, our ability to own GOOG without having to manufacture a variant view is one of the many competitive advantages we have compared to some larger, more institutionalized peers who may find it difficult to tell LPs that a vanilla company like GOOG is one of their favorite investments.
We are proudly running a relatively unconstrained strategy, and appreciative of our LP base that gives us the flexibility to look for the best risk / reward wherever it may lie. We also feel comfortable admitting that sometimes the most obvious bargains do hide in plain sight. In fact, despite nearly doubling since we first wrote it up in our Q2’18 letter, GOOG is just as exciting at current levels as it was back then.
Since pretty much everyone knows what GOOG does in its core business, there is no need to re-hash it here. However, I find it wild that we can own the most dominant advertising business on earth for less than 23x next year’s earnings (21x ex-cash). Typically, dominant, mature, global businesses that grow revenues in-line with GDP trade at higher multiples than this. Thus, given the relatively reasonable current multiple, I do not see much risk of long-term multiple compression here.
Yet, GOOG’s core advertising business, which drives all its profitability, actually grows much faster than global GDP. This is a business that has powerful secular tailwinds at its back, as advertising budgets continue to shift towards digital formats away from traditional ones. I expect this trend will continue for a long time and that current shareholders stand to benefit from the attractive growth.
Even better, GOOG’s earnings are not only growing faster than the average company, but they are also being weighed down significantly by its cloud business and various other bets. It is highly likely that these current drags on profitability will at some point generate significant earnings and be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Additionally, the company’s balance sheet is pristine. GOOG is sitting on over $100 billion of net cash. Many investors may argue that this is not a new dynamic. After all, the company has been building cash for a long time. However, the combination of GOOG’s new CEO (who effectively took the reins to start 2020) and well-regarded CFO (since 2015) are slowly instilling more focus and financial discipline on the company. Costs are being watched carefully, especially within other bets, and the pace of capital return has increased significantly of late. In fact, the pace of buybacks has more than tripled to greater than $30
billion in 2020, up from less than $10 billion in 2018. I expect this upward trend of buybacks to continue.Looking out to 2025, it is not difficult to imagine a core Google Services segment that generates close to $100 billion of annual net income, after corporate costs. If we add to that cloud, other bets and interim cash generation we could be looking at a company worth $3 trillion by the end of 2024, which would make GOOG more than a double from current levels. Not bad for a boring, well known mega-cap.”
4. The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW)
Value: $25,875,000
Percent of Martin Sass’ 13F Portfolio: 5.54%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 61
Sass’ strategy of initiating a position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) at the beginning of 2020 contributed strongly to overall returns. The shares of Charles Schwab jumped 31% year to date, extending the twelve-month gains to 88%. The company also offers a dividend yield of just over 1%. The massive user growth is among the biggest catalyst for brokerage platform stock price rally in the past few quarters.
The company is also getting the attention of the smart money, as 61 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in the company at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 53 funds a quarter earlier.
Baron Asset Fund stated in their Q1 2021 investor letter, that it’s too late to buy The Charles Schwab Corporation stock. Here is what Baron Asset Fund said:
“Shares of brokerage firm The Charles Schwab Corp. rose in the quarter. The company continued to successfully integrate its acquisition of TD Ameritrade. The merger enables Schwab to leverage efficiencies of scale to drive down its industry-leading operating costs per client assets even further. Additionally, net new assets grew in the mid-single-digits as customers tapped the services of the combined businesses. Finally, the business now has over $400 billion of interest-earning assets, which will generate improved profitability in a more normalized interest rate environment.”
3. Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY)
Value: $26,298,000
Percent of Martin Sass’ 13F Portfolio: 5.63%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 28
Sass’ fund first initiated a position in Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) in 2019 and sold out 21% of the position in the December quarter of 2020. Despite that, it is the third-largest stock holding of value investor Martin D. Sass stock portfolio. It is also on the list of the best value stocks to buy right now according to value investor Martin D. Sass.
The company generated 9.9% revenue growth in fiscal 2020 while operating income rose 15% from the year-ago period. The substantial growth in games and pictures revenue added significantly to its overall revenues in 2020.
2. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA)
Value: $26,620,000
Percent of Martin Sass’ 13F Portfolio: 5.7%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
After initiating a position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA) in the second quarter of 2020, the firm raised its stake by 21% in materials company during the December quarter. It is the second-largest stock holding of MD Sass, according to the latest filings. Axalta Coating Systems stock price grew 69% in the last twelve months, driven by robust growth in revenues and free cash flows.
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd was in 46 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 45 positions in the previous quarter.
1. Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK)
Value: $28,166,000
Percent of Martin Sass’ 13F Portfolio: 6.03%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
The materials company Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCK) was the largest stock holding of the MD Sass stock portfolio at the end of December. Sass held 281,096 shares of Crown Holdings, accounting for 6.03% of the overall portfolio. Shares of Crown rose 71% in the last twelve months, thanks to sustainable growth in revenue and earnings.
Aubrey Capital Management is one of the 63 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey having stakes in CCK at the end of the fourth quarter. The fund owns over 2,915 shares of the company.
Upslope Capital mentioned a few stocks including Crown Holdings in the fourth quarter investor letter. Here’s what Upslope Capital stated:
“We exited Crown Holdings near the end of the quarter. The business is performing well and an exit feels early. But, CCK was a “Tactical” holding (historically, we’ve been short CCK about as often as long) and thus I am more sensitive to valuation. Today, Crown’s valuation and leverage are relatively full and the long thesis is well-understood by investors.”
