NorthStar Asset Management (NSAM) & Star Gas Partners (SGU): Small-Cap Picks From Locust Wood Capital Advisers’ Latest 13F

Locust Wood’s second favorite small cap pick is Star Gas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SGU). The investor reported holding 537,350 shares of the company, worth $3.98 million. Star Gas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SGU) specializes in home heating products and services to residential and commercial customers. The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.095, up by 8.6% from the previous value of $0.088. For the first fiscal quarter of 2015, the company’s net income declined to $15.55 million from $19.29 million a year earlier, affected by warmer temperatures and the decline in value of derivative instruments, among other things. Gregory Bylinsky’s Bandera Partners is a major shareholder of Star Gas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SGU) with 4.86 million shares, according to its latest 13F filing.

In QEP Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:QEPM), Locust Wood Capital disclosed holding 36,994 shares valued at $0.58 million. The investor cut its stake by 70% during the first three months of 2015. QEP Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:QEPM) manages midstream energy assets and it was spun-off from QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP). Its stock appreciated by 4.30% since the beginning of the year, outperforming Oil & Gas Midstream industry, which inched down by 0.80% during the same period. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management is another shareholder of QEP Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:QEPM) with 18,555 shares as of the end of 2014.

KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. (NYSE:KS) is another one of Locust Wood Capital’s small cap picks, the position containing 81,392 shares valued at $2.67 million. KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. (NYSE:KS) is a $2.60 billion container board/corrugated products and specialty paper producer. The company achieved strong growth in the last five years by increasing its sales from $783 million in 2010 to $2.30 billion last year. Earlier this month, Zacks upgraded its rating on KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. (NYSE:KS)’s stock to ‘Hold’ from ‘Sell’, but RBC Capital reduced its price target to $36.00 from $38.00 with ‘Outperform’ rating. Richard Perry’s Perry Capital also holds 3.82 million shares of the company, according to its latest 13F filing.

Disclosure: None