Barry Rosenstein‘s Jana Partners nearly doubled its passive stake in SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU). The fund’s current position amounts to 32.23 million shares, which have an approximate current market value of $212.25 million – 11.60% of the company’s total market capitalization. Previously, Jana Partners owned slightly more than 17.00 million shares of SUPERVALU INC.
SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) is a US company which owns and operates SAVE-A-LOT, a US leading hard discount grocery chain of more than 1,170 stores. The company’s operations range from the sale of groceries at SUPERVALU’s retail locations to the wholesale distribution to independently-owned retail food stores, mass merchants, and other customers.
The company’s revenues slumped approximately 50.00% in 2013, compared to the revenues of $36.10 billion in 2012. In 2014, the company reported $17.16 billion in sales, generating profits of $0.71 per share. The grocery retailer’s President and CEO, Sam Duncan said “Fiscal 2014 was an important transition year for SUPERVALU as we stabilized the organization and set the foundation for our future” in the company’s fourth quarter fiscal 2014 results report. SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU)’s stock currently trades at $7.00, lower than the mean target price of $7.52 provided by analysts. The average P/E ratio for the Grocery Store Industry is 20.85, nearly double that at which SUPERVALU currently trades. Currently, market experts suggest that investors hold the company’s stock.
Two large owners of SUPERVALU INC’s stock are Philippe Laffont‘s Coatue Management and David E. Shaw‘s D E Shaw, the former holding 7.50 million shares and the latter 6.60 million. Another fund which holds a large stake in the company is Leon Cooperman‘s Omega Advisors, with a holding of 3.66 million shares.
Value-oriented, event-driven Jana Partners owns a diversified equity portfolio worth $7.90 billion. Around 60.00% of the portfolio’s value is invested in the Basic Materials and Services Sectors, while another 30.00% in Technology and Consumer Goods. The fund owns almost 6.70 million shares in the global specialty chemical company Ashland Inc (NYSE:ASH).
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