Billionaire Mario Gabelli’s Top 10 Stock Picks

Published February 22, 2021 at 3:33 am EST Updated September 7, 2026 at 1:23 pm EDT

In this article, we discussed Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors’ top 10 stock holdings.

Mario Gabelli is an American billionaire and hedge fund manager who founded Gamco Investors, a Rye, New York-based investment firm that manages over $10.6 billion in securities as of the end of the fourth quarter. Gabelli, 78, was born in The Bronx. The son of Italian immigrants used to read finance news and company reports for fun and bought his fist stock at the age of 13. Today, his worth stands at around $1.8 billion. Gabelli rose to fame in the 1980s for his successful bets on the media and telecom industries. Gabelli graduated from Fordham University. In 2014, the billionaire donated $35 million to the university, the biggest donation received by the institution in its 179-year history.

Gabelli’s investment philosophy is rooted in the principles of legendary investors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. He is a value investor who likes to gauge the “private market value” of a stock before investing. This strategy strives to strip a stock off all kinds of hype see what would it be worth in the private market.

GAMCO Investors’ GAMCO All Cap Value (UCITS) – Class I USD fund delivered a loss of 6.75% in 2015, but rebounded sharply the next year with a return of 8.87%. In 2017, GAMCO All Cap Value (UCITS) – Class I USD fund returned 14.55%. Through October 29, 2018, the fund had delivered returns of 3.70%, giving it a compound annual return of 5.63%.

GAMCO isn’t the only hedge fund struggling to post impressive gains. The hedge fund industry’s reputation has been tarnished in the last decade during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s strategy of focusing on the top picks of over 800 hedge funds has helped it consistently beat the market over the last several years. We launched our monthly newsletter’s activist strategy nearly 4 years ago and this strategy’s picks returned 187.5% since then and beat the SPY by 111 percentage points. Our short strategy was also launched 4 years ago and its short recommendations gained a cumulative 8% (that’s a good thing because we are shorting them) since then. You can improve your returns by subscribing to our premium newsletters. Our subscription prices start at $6.99 per month and come with a 14-day full refund guarantee.

In December 2020, Gabelli in an interview shared why he remains optimistic about 2021 and discussed some important elements of the modern financial markets.

Billionaire Mario Gabelli's top 10 Stock Picks

Mario Gabelli on Why He Remains Optimistic in 2021

Mario Gabelli said in the interview that the global economy is equivalent to $9.1 trillion, with China occupying 18.1% of the entire economy, while the United States accounting for 25%. Gabelli thinks there is a long runway for the housing and automobile sectors. Leisure and travel are also expected to rebound amid the mass availability of the coronavirus vaccines.

“You need an element of support for a certain part of the population, particularly if you’re dealing in restaurants if you are in small businesses. But stepping back, we need an infrastructure bill.”

Infrastructure

Gabelli emphasized the importance of infrastructure spending in the country, noting that over 500,000 bridges in the United States have ‘D-‘ to ‘D+’ ratings. According to Gabelli, the country needs a lot of work on inland waterways, canals, roads and highways. He hopes that the new administration can particularly focus on this need. The billionaire also said that investing in green energy projects will be beneficial for the entire economic ecosystem.

Broadband

“The other one that I did not mention was broadband. We have to do what they did in the 1930s when we did a plain old telephone service, where we did utilities in rural America, and so broadband is another area that we need to put money in.”

The Importance of Investing in “Unloved Stocks”

“What will make it even a $100 stock over the next 2 or 3 years? That’s what we try to figure out. We think we’ve figured it out… The point is that there are many unloved companies that we like to focus on and our clients already own those.”

Let’s start our list of billionaire Mario Gabelli’s top 10 stock picks. But before that, here’s a quote from him:

“That’s my approach to life: Go where others fear to tread. Hell, I bought a Cadillac in the middle of the oil embargo.”

10. Kaman Corporation (NYSE: KAMN)

Kaman Corporation’s business is centered on aerospace. The company sells aircraft components like super precision, miniature ball bearings, composite aerostructures, arming solutions for missile and bomb systems and helicopter parts and services. The company currently has a $1.5 billion market capitalization. For the past 3 months, KAMN delivered a 3.09% return and settled at $55.11 per share at the closing of February 17th.

Based on GAMCO Investors’ SEC 13F filings at the end of the fourth quarter, they currently own 2.1 million shares of Kaman Corp. worth $119.49 million, as of December 31, 2020. KAMN accounts for 1.11% of GAMCO’s total portfolio. Another major stakeholder of Kaman is Cardinal Capital, which owns 1,266,453 KAMN shares.

9. Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLI)

Mueller Industries specializes in copper and copper alloy manufacturing. The company also produces items that are made from steel and aluminum. MLI currently has a $2 billion market capitalization and was able to deliver a 12.52% return in the past 3 months.

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, GAMCO Investors holds $119.94 million worth of MLI shares. GAMCO is followed by Gates Capital Management and Royce & Associates with 1,539,576 and 784,409 MLI shares, respectively.

8. Crane Co. (NYSE: CR)

Crane Co is a premier manufacturer of bathroom fixtures in America. The company serves different markets and fields such as oil, gas, pharmaceutical, transportation, aerospace and defense. Crane Co. currently has a $4.78 billion market capitalization. It delivered a decent 26.55% return in the past 3 months and settled at $83.46 per share at the closing of February 17th.

Mario Gabelli’s hedge fund owns $120.35 million worth of CR shares.

7. CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI)

Ranking 7th on our list of billionaire Mario Gabelli’s top 10 stock picks is CNH Industrial. It is an agricultural and construction equipment designer and manufacturer. The company recently released a disclosure stating that they support the growing hemp industry in North America. CNHI Industrial currently has a $19.1 billion market capitalization and was able to deliver a 47.70% return in the past 12 months.

GAMCO Investors owns 9,978,129 shares of CNH, worth $128.1 million.

6. American Express Company (NYSE: AXP)

American Express ranks 6th on the list of billionaire Mario Gabelli’s top 10 stock picks. It is a global financial services corporation that operates in more than 130 countries. American Express currently has a $102 billion market capitalization. For the past 3 months, AXP was able to deliver an 11% return and settled at $128.56 per share at the closing of February 17th.

With a $129.4 million stake invested in American Express, GAMCO Investors currently owns 1,070,255 shares of the company as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

5. Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV)

Navistar International Corporation owns and manufactures a variety of global brands of trucks and diesel engines. Recently, the holding company acquired its 2nd property in San Antonio in preparation for a plant launch in 2022. Navistar International is expected to invest $275 million for this project, creating over 650 new jobs in the region. NAV currently has a $4.3 billion market capitalization, and was able to deliver a 17.13% return in the past 12 months. It settled at $44.09 per share at the closing of February 17th.

GAMCO Investors owns 3,063,523 shares of Navistar International Corporation worth $134.67 million.

4. GATX Corporation (NYSE: GATX)

GATX Corporation is a global railcar lessor. The company operates fleets on the Great Lakes and owns several aircraft spare engine lease portfolios in the world. The company owns a fleet of 147,000 railcars.

GATX currently has a $3.3 billion market capitalization. For the past 3 months, it was able to deliver a 20.74% return and settled at $96.44 per share at the closing of February 17th. According to an article we published last December, GATX was in 10 hedge fund portfolios during the Q4 of 2020. However, its all-time high statistics is 21.

Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors owns a $156.45 million stake in GATX Corporations. Another notable stakeholder of GATX is Scopus Asset Management, with 97,576 shares of the company.

3. Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AJRD)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. focuses on the aerospace, defense, and real estate markets, providing innovative technology-based solutions to its customers. AJRD played a critical role in NASA’s Perseverance rover Mars landing.

Here is what Aerojet Rocketdyne’s CEO and President, Eileen Drake, has to say regarding the mission:

“Landing on Mars is hard. The planet has an atmosphere but it is too thin to slow the spacecraft down enough for a safe landing, and that is where Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion comes in. Aerojet Rocketdyne’s innovative and reliable propulsion has been a part of every successful NASA mission to Mars since the Viking program in the 1970s.”

The company currently has a $3.9 billion market capitalization. For the past 3 months, it delivered a 35.77% return and settled at $52 per share at the closing of February 17th. Last month, we published an article about the 16 Best Space Stocks to Buy Now, and AJRD is part of it.

GAMCO owns 3,215,931 shares of the company, worth $169.96 million.

2. Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE)

Sony Corporation is a Japanese global conglomerate that offers a variety of digital services through games, music, movies, gadgets, and a lot more. Sony currently has a $140.5 billion market capitalization. The company delivered a 70.31% return in the past 12 months and settled at $114.92 per share at the closing of February 17th.

GAMCO Investors owns 2,065,305 shares of Sony, worth $208.8 million. Sony accounts for 1.95% of GAMCO’s total portfolio.

1. Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HRI)

Herc Holding Inc. tops the list of billionaire Mario Gabelli’s top 10 stock picks. Herc is a heavy equipment rental provider. The company generated total revenue of $2 billion in 2019 and owns $3.82 billion worth of equipment available for rent. Herc Holdings currently has a $2 billion market capitalization. It was able to deliver a 61.95% return in the past 12 months and settled at $73 per share at the closing of February 17th.

GAMCO Investors is the second-biggest shareholder of Herc, according to Insider Monkey’s database of hedge funds, with 3,310,353 shares worth $219.84 million.

You can also take a peek at 10 Biggest Companies Competing With Netflix and 15 Fastest Growing Franchises.

Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter