Should You Buy Makaira Partners’ Top Small-Cap Stocks?

Makaira Partners owned 3.01 million shares of Covanta Holding Corp (NYSE:CVA) valued at $67.49 million. The company has reiterated its commitment to eliminating environmental pollution from firms generating energy from waste materials. The company’s breakthrough technology has already been accredited for significantly reducing nitrogen oxide emissions in facilities across North America. Emissions at the Vancouver Waste-to-Energy facility are down by 53% thanks to Covanta’s emission control system. The facility used to produce 0.8% nitrogen emissions prior to the installation of the new system. The emissions have since dropped to 0.4%. Covanta’s trademark technology is currently being used in 44 facilities across the globe, as the company affirms its commitment to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions to low levels across North America. John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies holds 9.13 million shares of Covanta Holding Corp (NYSE:CVA) worth $204.50 million.

The third of Makaira Partners’ small-cap picks that we are going to look into is Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI), in which the fund holds 200,000 shares worth $24.57 million. A look at the stock’s performance shows that its value has fallen by a little over 1% over the past six months. The irrigation sector continues to perform better than expected amidst ongoing weaknesses in the market. Weak agriculture commodity prices continue to be a niggling concern that has affected the company’s revenues in North America. Weak global commodity prices are also taking a toll on the company’s irrigation business. However, the engineered infrastructure segment continues to offset weaknesses in this segment, aided by a string of acquisitions. A strengthened U.S dollar could pose further headwinds, especially on the earnings front going forward. The company is however remaining bullish on its prospects within the Coating segment, as volume and profitability levels in North America remain solid despite a decline in internal demand. Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates holds 1.77 million Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE:VMI) shares worth $218.27 million.

Disclosure: None