Is it a Great Move to Acquire Manchester United (MANU) Shares?

Ariel Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Ariel International Fund & Ariel Global Fund” fourth quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. Ariel Global Fund’s fourth quarter and calendar year gain underperformed its primary benchmark, which was propelled by its exposure to large-cap U.S. growth stocks. Conversely, Ariel International Fund outperformed its primary benchmark during the quarter yet lagged over the one-year period. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.

Ariel Investments, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) and discussed its stance on the firm. Founded in 1878, Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) is a Old Trafford, Stretford-based sports teams and clubs company with a $2.2 billion market capitalization, and is currently spearheaded by its CEO, Richard Arnold. Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) delivered a -3.72% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -19.87%. The stock closed at $13.71 per share on March 21, 2022.

Here is what Ariel Investments has to say about Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

Manchester United (NYSE: MANU) is one of the most popular sports teams in the world with more than 1 billion fans. The 144-year old football club plays in the English Premier League (EPL), the most watched professional sports league globally, and has won 66 trophies and 20 English league titles. The club is majority owned by the Glazer family, who also owns the National Football League (NFL) team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Manchester United’s strong global brand, coupled with the European “free market” structure which enables greater competition between franchises, provides an advantage over American counterparts constrained by salary caps, and revenue sharing requirements. While short-term noise related to the pandemic and a recent Glazer family stock sale have put pressure on shares, the company’s improving business fundamentals, including successful IP monetization efforts, should translate to solid long-term performance in our view…” (Click here to see the full text)

Our calculations show that Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) was in 12 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 6 funds in the previous quarter. Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) delivered a -2.63% return in the past 3 months.

Earlier this month, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) in another article. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.