Royce Investment Partners, the firm founded by Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed in a regulatory 13F filing that its top five trades during the first quarter included boosts to its holdings of First Citizens Bancshares Inc. (FCNCA, Financial) and RB Global Inc. (RBA, Financial). The firm also reduced its positions in Inter Parfums Inc. (IPAR, Financial), KBR Inc. (KBR, Financial) and Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC, Financial).
The New York-based firm invests in small-cap companies that have a strong balance sheet, good business operations and are trading at a discount to intrinsic value.
As of March, the firm’s $9.99 billion 13F equity portfolio contains 912 stocks, with 63 new positions and a quarterly turnover ratio of 8%. The top four sectors in terms of weight are industrials, technology, consumer cyclical and financial services, representing 28.91%, 18.85%, 13.38% and 12.55% of the equity portfolio.
Investors should be aware 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firm’s holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published.
First Citizens Bancshares
Royce Investment Partners purchased 31,044 shares of First Citizens Bancshares (FCNCA, Financial), boosting the position by 63.26% and its equity portfolio by 0.30%.
Shares of First Citizens Bancshares averaged $742.71 during the first quarter; the stock is fairly valued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.97 as of Thursday.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based bank has a GF Score of 73 out of 100 based on a growth rank of 7 out of 10, a profitability rank of 6 out of 10, a GF Value rank of 5 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 4 out of 10 and a momentum rank of 3 out of 10.
The bank’s high growth rank is driven by several positive investing signs, which include three-year revenue and book value growth rates outperforming more than 93% of global competitors.
RB Global
The firm added 424,361 shares of RB Global (RBA, Financial), boosting the position by 96.17% and its equity portfolio by 0.24%. Shares averaged $58.95 during the first quarter.
On Tuesday, the Burnaby, British Columbia-based heavy equipment auctioneer company changed its corporate name from Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. to RB Global Inc.
GuruFocus’ GF Value line labeled RB Global a possible value trap based on the company’s low price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.64 as of Thursday and poor financial strength rank of 5 out of 10.
The company’s low financial strength is driven by several warning signs, which include a weak Altman Z-score of 1.29 and a debt-to-Ebitda ratio of approximately 14, which underperform more than 95% of global competitors. Additionally, the company’s Beneish M-score of -0.72 suggests possible earnings manipulation.
Despite the company having poor financial strength, RB Global has a GF Score of 93 out of 100 based on a GF Value rank of 10 out of 10, a momentum rank of 8 out of 10 and a rank of 9 out of 10 for profitability and growth.
Inter Parfums
The firm sold 284,577 shares of Inter Parfums (IPAR, Financial), reducing the position by 37.44% and its equity portfolio by 0.29%.
Shares of Inter Parfums averaged $123.25 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly overvalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.10 as of Thursday.
The New York-based fragrance products company has a GF Score of 82 out of 100 based on a profitability rank of 9 out of 10, a rank of 8 out of 10 for growth and financial strength and a rank of 3 out of 10 for momentum and GF Value.
Inter Parfums’ positive investing signs include a high Altman Z-score of 7.21, a safe Beneish M-score of -2.21 and an operating margin that has increased by approximately 5.9% per year on average over the past five years and is outperforming more than 91% of global competitors.
KBR
Royce sold 399,247 shares of KBR (KBR, Financial), slicing 30.84% of the position and 0.22% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of KBR averaged $52.34 during the first quarter; the stock is significantly overvalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.39 as of Thursday.
The Houston-based industrial construction company has a GF Score of 72 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 9 out of 10, a profitability rank of 7 out of 10, a GF Value rank of 1 out of 10 and a rank of 6 out of 10 for growth and financial strength.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries
The firm sold 429,367 shares of Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC, Financial), chopping 40.52% of the position and 0.20% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Kulicke & Soffa Industries averaged $52.01 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly overvalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.15 as of Thursday.
The Singapore-based semiconductor equipment company has a GF Score of 89 out of 100 based on a financial strength rank of 10 out of 10, a rank of 9 out of 10 for profitability and growth, a momentum rank of 7 out of 10 and a GF Value rank of 3 out of 10.
