Guru Arnold Van Den Berg (Trades, Portfolio) began his investment career in 1968 after he received his securities license. From there, Van Den Berg worked at John Hancock Insurance and then for Capital Securities. It was during this time when the market saw one of the worst declines in Wall Street histroy when the stock market lost 46% of its value in a single calendar year from 1973 to 1974.
In 1974, he founded Van Den Berg Management, which is now known as Century Management and currently owns 77 stocks with a total valuation of $583 million.
In the first quarter of 2016, Van Den Berg added 237,926 shares of Era Group Inc. (ERA, Financial).
Era Group is one of the largest helicopter operators in the world and the longest serving helicopter transport operator in the U.S. In addition to the company servicing the needs of clients situated within the U.S., the company also offers their business to customers in Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, India, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. Era Group's helicopters are primarily used to transport personnel to and from offshore oil and gas production platforms, drilling rigs and other installations.
Era Group has a market cap of $205.55 million, an enterprise value of $460.89 million, a P/E ratio of 23.89 and a P/B ratio of 0.41.
According to Era Group's most recent 10-K filing, the biggest risk factor lies within the uncertainty of oil prices, which are outside of the company's control.
Below is a Peter Lynch Chart for Era Group Inc.
It is possible that Van Den Berg added 237,926 shares of Era Group because the company has been in operation since 1999, which gives it 17 years of experience in the industry. The company has also grown to being one the largest helicopter operators in the world. Recent oil prices have been extremely volatile, which has affected many businesses in the global airports and air services industry; however, if oil prices rise again, then Era Group's stock price will also likely follow suit, which could have been another reason for Van Den Berg’s decision to buy more shares.
Cheers to your investment success.
Disclosure: Author does not currently own any shares of this stock.
