Wintergreen Advisors’ Top Stock Picks Include Altria Group

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN). Winters and his team reported a position of about 740,000 shares of Winters’ former employer. Earnings were up 18% in the fiscal quarter ending in September (the fourth of the company’s fiscal year) versus a year earlier. The trailing P/E here is 15, so again Wintergreen is not going for pricing above all else: in order for this to be a good buy Franklin will have to continue to demonstrate good business performance. Southeastern Asset Management, which is run by Mason Hawkins, added to its position for a total of 4.2 million shares (check out more stocks Southeastern was buying).

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM). The fund owned about 920,000 shares in this internationally operating tobacco company. At 17 times trailing earnings with moderate declines in revenue and net income in its most recent reported quarter compared to the same period in 2011, the value story doesn’t look too attractive here. The dividend yield is high, at close to 4%, though that is lower than at Altria. Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management doubled its stake in Philip Morris during the third quarter (research more of Fisher’s stock picks).

Canadian Natural Resource Ltd (NYSE:CNQ). The $33 billion market cap global oil and gas company rounded out Wintergreen’s top five picks. Revenue has been up, though earnings have been down; this likely signals a combination of increasing production and lower prices (particularly lower natural gas prices). The stock is down 21% in the last year and so the trailing and forward P/E multiples remain in the low teens. Highfields Capital Management, managed by Jonathon Jacobson, was another major holder of the stock.