Hawk Ridge Partners’ Return, AUM, and Holdings

The biggest new position that Hawk Ridge acquired in Q2 was in Argan Inc (AGX), worth around $16.64 million, and counting 406,370 of the company’s outstanding shares. Next in line was its investment in Spectrum Brands Legacy Inc. (SPB), with the fund buying 186,410 shares valued at $15.22 million at the end of June. This seems like a smart investment move for Hawk Ridge Capital, as the smart investors that we track are becoming more bullish on Spectrum Brands Legacy Inc. (SPB) overall, with 22 hedge funds long the stock at the end of June, up by five from the previous quarter.

The largest stake the fund held at the end of Q2, accounting for 8.4% of its 13F portfolio’s value, was Celestica Inc (CLS). Hawk Ridge’s Celestica position was valued at $36.31 million on June 30 and counted 3.06 million shares. Hawk Ridge Management actually lowered its stake in the company by 5% from its previous 13F, just as it lowered its position by 4% in Etsy Inc (ETSY), which was the second-most valuable stake in its portfolio at the end of June, counting 664,489 shares valued at $28.04 million.

Some of the companies Hawk Ridge Management is becoming more optimistic about include On Deck Capital Inc. (ONDK), in which the fund increased its stake by 184% to 1.6 million shares, and Gulfport Energy Corp (GPOR), in which the fund raised its stake by 47% to 326,600 shares, amassing a position that was valued at $4.11 million at the end of June.

The fund completely sold off 12 companies in the second quarter, the biggest positions of which were in Equity Commonwealth (EQC) (236,3030 shares valued at $7.25 million on March 31), and G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII) (190,600 shares worth $7.18 million). Interestingly, both companies are becoming more interesting to the smart money investors in our database, as 24 hedge funds were long Equity Commonwealth (EQC) and 21 were long G-III Apparel Group Ltd (GIII) at the end of June, compared to 21 and 18 respectively at the end of March. Seeing the optimism for these stocks, it could be that dumping them wasn’t the best move for Hawk Ridge Management. Time will tell.

Disclosure: None