Hedge Fund Samlyn Capital’s Small Cap Picks Include The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT)

Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc (NYSE:FNP) was another of Samlyn’s small cap picks with the filing disclosing ownership of 4.7 million shares (up 50% from three months earlier). The apparel and accessories designer is unprofitable on a trailing basis, but sell-side consensus is for it to break even this year and then deliver 38 cents per share of earnings in 2014. However, that would still leave the current price at over 50 times forward estimates and we’d advise against buying the stock. The largest holder of the stock out of the hedge funds and other notable investors we track was billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management.

Pohly and his team cut their stake in First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN), a $2.5 billion market cap Tennessee-based bank, by 10% to 5.4 million shares. First Horizon trades at a small premium to the book value of its equity with a P/B ratio of 1.1, and the forward earnings multiple of 11- while it may appear low- is higher than what we find at many larger banks as well as regional banks. As such we’re not sure that the stock is a good value for its industry. Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company disclosed ownership of 3.1 million shares at the end of 2012 (research more stocks Chilton owned).

According to the 13F, Samlyn bought over 600,000 shares of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) between October and December after not having owned any shares at the end of Q3. WellCare focuses on government-sponsored programs including Medicaid and Medicare. Its trailing and forward P/E multiples are 14 and 10, respectively, which is about in line with other health care plan managers- the market may be concerned with future federal regulation of the insurance market. Mariko Gordon’s Daruma Asset Management was also buying the stock in the fourth quarter (see more stocks Daruma was buying).

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.