Joe Huber’s Huber Capital Management Ups Activist Stake in A. M. Castle & Co (CAS) To 8.1%

In a newly-amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Huber Capital Management, managed by Joe Huber, disclosed upping its position in A. M. Castle & Co (NYSE:CAS). The filing showed that Huber Capital Management holds 1.90 million shares of A. M. Castle & Co (NYSE:CAS), representing an increase from 1.53 million shares the fund reported in its latest 13F filing. The stake amasses 8.1% of the company’s common stock outstanding.

Huber Capital Management was founded by Joe Huber, who previously was a principal and director of research for Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management. Huber Capital Management focuses on financial, basic materials, services, and technology stocks. The fund’s equity portfolio is valued at around $3.4 billion as of the end of September 2014. CNO Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CNO), ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV), and KBR Inc. (NYSE:KBR) were represented as the largest holdings of the fund as of the end of September 2014. In its latest 13F, Huber Capital reported ownership of 14.22 million shares of CNO Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CNO), whose stock moved up 3.74% during last six months. The fund increased its holding of ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) during the third quarter, owning 3.39 million shares of the company. Share price of ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) dropped by 41.45% in last six months. In addition, the investor revealed owning 6.23 million shares of KBR Inc. (NYSE:KBR) as of the end of September 2014. KBR Inc. (NYSE:KBR) moved down by 13.04% in last six months.

A. M. Castle & Co (NYSE:CAS) is engaged in providing specialty products, services, and supply chain solutions. The company distributes carbon, alloy, stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminum, titanium, cast iron, brass, copper, and plastic. It has a market cap of nearly $145 million. For nine months ended September 30, 2014, the company posted a net loss of $95.6 million, versus a net loss of $21.3 million in the same period of 2013. Per share loss was $4.10, compared to loss of $0.92 in 2013. The company reported net sales of $748.4 million, down from $819.8 million in 2013.

On Tuesday, A. M. Castle & Co (NYSE:CAS) is trading up by 8.24% at $6.57. It seems that the company’s stock has not been performing well since April 2014. The stock moved down by over 50% since February 2014. The stock moved down over 20% during last six months, and more than 19% during last one month. A. M. Castle & Co (NYSE:CAS) has a 52 week high of $15.64, and a 52 week low of $5.52. Analysts have the consensus average target price of $8.00 for the stock. The consensus average recommendation for the company’s stock is ‘Overweight.’