Howard Marks (Trades, Portfolio) is the chairman of Oaktree, a management firm with $86 billion in assets. In his most recent memo, “Dare to Be Great II,” he shared a secret to his investing success:
“The answer may not be obvious, but it’s imperative: you have to assemble a portfolio that’s different from those held by most other investors. If your portfolio looks like everyone else’s, you may do well, or you may do poorly, but you can’t do different. And being different is absolutely essential if you want a chance at being superior. In order to get into the top of the performance distribution, you have to escape from the crowd. There are many ways to try. They include being active in unusual market niches; buying things others haven’t found, don’t like or consider too risky to touch; avoiding market darlings that the crowd thinks can’t lose; engaging in contrarian cycle timing; and concentrating heavily in a small number of things you think will deliver exceptional performance.”
The investor released his first quarter stock buys and sells on Wednesday. He revealed that he purchased seven new stocks: Diamond Foods Inc. (DMND, Financial), Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN, Financial), Telecom Argentina SA (TEO, Financial), Oi SA (OIBR, Financial), Paragon Shipping Inc. (PRGN, Financial), VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP, Financial) and Lexington Realty Trust (LXPPRC, Financial).
Diamond Foods Inc. (DMND, Financial)
As his top new position Marks bought 4,420,859 shares of Diamond Foods Inc., representing 2.9% of his portfolio. The average price for the company’s shares was $28 in quarter one.
Diamond Foods Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 2005 as the successor to Diamond Walnut Growers Inc. Diamond Foods Inc. has a market cap of $970.40 million; its shares were traded at around $30.92 with and P/S ratio of 0.80.
Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN, Financial)
Marks bought 237,000 shares of Ocwen Financial Corp, a 0.18% portfolio weight. The stock’s price averaged $43 for the quarter.
Ocwen Financial Corporation is a Florida corporation organized in February 1988 in connection with the acquisition of Ocwen Federal Bank FSB or the Bank. Ocwen Financial Corp has a market cap of $4.53 billion; its shares were traded at around $33.55 with a P/E ratio of 16.70 and P/S ratio of 2.10. Ocwen Financial Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 6.20% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Ocwen Financial Corp the business predictability rank of 2-star.
Telecom Argentina SA (TEO, Financial)
Marks bought 324,973 shares of Telecom Argentina SA, a 0.12% portfolio weight. The stock’s price averaged $17 per share for the quarter.
Telecom Argentina SA was created by Decree No. 60 of the executive branch dated Jan. 5, 1990, and incorporated as Sociedad Licenciataria Norte S. Telecom Argentina SA has a market cap of $3.88 billion; its shares were traded at around $20.04 with a P/E ratio of 9.70 and P/S ratio of 1.10. The dividend yield of Telecom Argentina SA stocks is 3.40%. Telecom Argentina SA had an annual average earnings growth of 16.70% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Telecom Argentina SA the business predictability rank of 3-star.
Marks bought 2,623,000 shares of Oi SA, representing 0.066% of his portfolio. The share price averaged $2 in the first quarter.
Oi SA is a telecommunication service providing company in Brazil. Oi SA has a market cap of $1.47 billion; its shares were traded at around $0.90 with a P/E ratio of 0.90. The dividend yield of Oi SA stocks is 13.50%. Oi SA had an annual average earnings growth of 11.70% over the past 10 years.
Paragon Shipping Inc. (PRGN, Financial)
Marks bought 400,000 shares of Paragon Shipping in the quarter, representing 0.052% of the portfolio. The share price averaged $7.
Paragon Shipping Inc. is a provider of shipping transportation services. Paragon Shipping Inc has a market cap of $101.10 million; its shares were traded at around $5.72 with and P/S ratio of 1.30.
VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP, Financial)
Marks purchased 260,000 shares of VimpelCom, representing 0.044% of the portfolio. The stock’s first quarter average share price was $10.
VimpelCom Ltd. was formed in the year 2009. The company was incorporated in Bermuda. VimpelCom Ltd. has a market cap of $12.86 billion; its shares were traded at around $7.90 with a P/E ratio of 6.30 and P/S ratio of 0.60. The dividend yield of VimpelCom Ltd. stocks is 10.10%. VimpelCom Ltd. had an annual average earnings growth of 112.50% over the past five years.
Lexington Realty Trust (LXPPRC, Financial)
Last, Marks bought 16,050 shares of Lexington Realty Trust, a 0.014% portfolio weight.
Lexington Realty Trust or Lexington formerly Lexington Corporate Properties Trust, is a self-managed and self-administered Maryland statutory real estate investment trust that acquires, owns, and manages a geographically diversified portfolio of net leased office, industrial and retail properties and provides investment advisory and asset management services to investors in the net lease area.. The dividend yield of Lexington Realty Trust stocks is 6.91%.
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