Billionaire Paul Singer Buying Alcoa Inc. (AA), North Tide Capital Selling Amedisys Inc. (AMED), Plus Two Other Moves

As stated by a 13D filing, Paul Singer’s Elliott Associates L.P. and its affiliates have combined economic exposure to roughly 7.4% of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) shares. These entities own 82.60 million shares of Alcoa, which include 8.0 million shares underlying exercisable options, and have additional economic exposure to 1.1% of shares in the form of cash settled swaps with respect to 15.0 million shares. This compares with the economic exposure to 6.4% of shares as revealed via Elliott’s initial 13D filing on the company, which was filed in November. The activist hedge fund mentioned in the filing that Alcoa’s shares “are dramatically undervalued by the public market” and also expressed its support for the firm’s decision to split into two companies. Let us remind you that the aluminum producer announced its plans to separate into two independent companies back in September, one of which will comprise the Alumina and Primary Metals segments, while the other one will comprise the Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions segments. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) plans to complete the aforementioned separation in the second half of 2016. The company reported sales of $17.29 billion for the nine months that ended September 30, down from $17.53 billion reported for the same period a year earlier. The decrease was mainly attributable to closed, sold or curtailed capacity in midstream and upstream operations, lower realized prices for aluminum in both upstream and midstream operations, and unfavorable currency fluctuations. The shares of Alcoa have lost 57% over the past one-year period and trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, which is well below the average of 15.38 for the S&P 500 companies. Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group acquired a 52.27 million-share stake in Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) during the third quarter.

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In a Schedule 13G filing, John A. Levin‘s Levin Capital Strategies L.P. reported owning 4.34 million shares of Amplify Snack Brands Inc. (NYSE:BETR), which constitute 5.8% of the company’s outstanding shares. The investment firm owned nearly 1.92 million shares of the snack food company at the end of September, as revealed by the fund’s 13F for the third quarter. The high-growth snack food company completed its initial public offering in August 2015, when a group of stockholders sold 15.0 million shares to the public at a price of $18 per share. The stock has lost 16% over the past three months, but several financial hubs, including Jefferies, believe that the stock is poised to advance in the near future. Analysts anticipate Amplify Snack Brands Inc. (NYSE:BETR) to deliver $0.59 in earnings per share for fiscal year 2016, but it is still premature to conclude whether the company will be able to grow at a pace that should attract investor interest. 13 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey bought shares shortly after the IPO, being invested in the company at the end of September, and stockpiling nearly 10% of its shares. Christian Leone’s Luxor Capital Group owns 2.38 million shares of Amplify Snack Brands Inc. (NYSE:BETR) as of September 30.

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