Financial media loves to publish stories about hedge funds’ failures. We are sick and tired of reading about Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) and activist Bill Ackman’s painful losses. We don’t think the financial media pays enough attention to hedge funds’ success stories. At the beginning of September, activist hedge fund Alden Global bought 9.5% of Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR) after the shares dipped. We discussed the stock 2 months ago in an article. Here is how Randall Smith described the investment:
“On September 7, 2016, the Issuer announced that President and CEO Alex W. Smith will step down as President, CEO and a member of the Issuer’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), effective December 31, 2016, and that the Issuer is conducting a search for a new CEO. Also on September 7, 2016, the Issuer announced disappointing preliminary second quarter financial results. Following these developments, the Reporting Persons engaged, and intend to continue to engage, in communications with management and the Board regarding certain matters, including the Issuer’s recent operational performance, shareholder representation on the Board and the CEO search process. The Reporting Persons believe that the Issuer is at a critical juncture and look forward to a constructive dialogue with management and the Board and are hopeful that the Board will voluntarily take appropriate action to address the concerns raised by the Reporting Persons.”
Alden Global bought 6.25 million shares on September 8th at around $4.10 and increased its position to 7.9 million shares by the end of September. Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR) shares trade at $9.49 today. That’s a return of more than 130%. We just wanted to point this out because nobody else will. We suggest you start tracking the moves of Alden Global and pay more attention if it backs up the truck and loads up.
Today Randall Smith filed an amendment to his original 13D filing. The details can be seen below.
Ownership Summary Table
| Name | Sole Voting Power | Shared Voting Power | Sole Dispositive Power | Shared Dispositive Power | Aggregate Amount Owned Power | Percent of Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alden Global Opportunities Master Fund | 7,632,034 | 7,632,034 | 7,632,034 | 9.2% | ||
| Alden Global Capital | 7,632,034 | 7,632,034 | 7,632,034 | 9.2% | ||
| Heath Freeman | 7,632,034 | 7,632,034 | 7,632,034 | 9.2% |
Page 1 of 8 – SEC Filing
(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person
