Mario Gabelli's Top 5 Stock Picks

Author's Avatar
Mar 31, 2015
Article's Main Image

Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) is the founder of GAMCO Investors, a firm with $49.9 billion in assets under management across a range of funds. Investing at GAMCO centers on a fundamental, bottom-up approach.

In the fourth quarter letter for his Value 25 Fund, Gabelli said he was expecting market turbulence in 2015 to provide some attractive valuations:

“While most signs point towards an improving U.S. economy, certain geopolitical dynamics are concerning. The market’s response to the potential for increased interest rates is also in question. As a result, 2015 is likely to be a volatile year in which we will seek opportunity. Our focus remains on generating superior tax efficient, inflation adjusted returns by relying upon our time tested people, process and Private Market Value (PMV) with a CatalystTM philosophy. Our embrace of this philosophy and process has demonstrated superior returns over the history of our firm, and we have confidence this should remain the case in the future.”

GAMCO’s stock holdings totaled 861 at the end of 2014, valued in aggregate at $19.2 billion. Thirty-two new holdings were purchased in the fourth quarter, of which the largest were: Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST, Financial), Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB, Financial), PetSmart Inc. (PETM, Financial), Volcano Corp (VOLC, Financial) and Covance Inc. (CVD, Financial).

Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST, Financial)

Gabelli purchased 236,700 shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, representing 0.12% of the portfolio. Shares closed Monday at $101.94 each.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1992. Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a market cap of $7.68 billion; its shares were traded at around $101.94 with a P/E ratio of 126.00 and P/S ratio of 7.23.

Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB, Financial)

Gabelli purchased 970,500 shares of Chiquita Brands International Inc., representing 0.073% of the portfolio. The company’s shares closed at $14.49 on Monday.

Chiquita Brands International operate as a marketer and distributor of bananas and pineapples sold under the Chiquita and other brand names in nearly 70 countries packaged salads sold under the Fresh Express and other brand names primarily in the U.S. Chiquita Brands International Inc. has a market cap of $681.24 million; its shares were traded at around $14.49 with and P/S ratio of 0.22.

PetSmart Inc. (PETM, Financial)

Gabelli purchased 131,800 shares of PetSmart, representing 0.056% of the portfolio. The company’s shares closed at $83 per share on Monday.

PetSmart Inc. was incorporated in the State of Delaware in 1986. Petsmart Inc. has a market cap of $8.25 billion; its shares were traded at around $82.98 with a P/E ratio of 19.70 and P/S ratio of 1.19. The dividend yield of Petsmart Inc. stocks is 0.9%. Petsmart Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 14.5% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Petsmart Inc. the business predictability rank of 5-star.

Volcano Corp (VOLC, Financial)

Gabelli held 572,500 shares of Volcano Corp in the fourth quarter, representing 0.053% of the portfolio. The company’s shares closed Monday at $17.99.

Volcano Corp incorporated in the state of Delaware in January 2000. Volcano Corp has a market cap of $927.314 million; its shares were traded at around $17.99 with and P/S ratio of 2.36.

Covance Inc. (CVD, Financial)

Gabelli purchased 81,200 shares of Covance Inc., representing 0.044% of the portfolio. The company’s shares on Monday closed at $106.

Covance Inc. is a Delaware Corporation, founded in 1987. Covance Inc. has a market cap of $6.01 billion; its shares were traded at around $106.42 with a P/E ratio of 34.0 and P/S ratio of 2.27. Covance Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 5.10% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Covance Inc. the business predictability rank of 2-star.

See more of David Herro (Trades, Portfolio)’s latest stock picks at his portfolio here. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days here.