Peter Schliemann, who manages Rutabaga Capital believes in the regression to the mean, and finds out small companies with deteriorated margins for reasons, which he thinks he can tackle. He can wait for two or three years for the full turnaround of these companies and at the same time looks for a catalyst for quick growth. He further has inclination towards companies with a dominant niche and a decent balance sheet, but he is also ready to buy leveraged outfits, which has cash flow to service and pay down debt.
Rutabaga Capital has made several moves in its equity portfolio. In this piece, we have highlighted some of the recent moves, some of which include significant cuts in some of the holdings.
The holding in Mktg, Inc. (OTCMKTS:CMKG), was boosted to 1.28 million shares from 1.03 million shares, held at the end of September 2013. The current stake amasses 14.8% of the company’s common stock.
Another company is Douglas Dynamics Inc (NYSE:PLOW), in which the fund raised its holding to 2.19 million shares from 2.14 million shares held earlier. The current stake amasses 9.85% of the company’s common stock.
In CPI Aerostructures, Inc. (NYSEMKT:CVU), Rutabaga Capital reiterated its stake of 624,464 shares, representing a 7.44% stake of the company’s common stock.
In Astro-Med, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALOT), Rutabaga Capital reiterated its holding of 681823 shares representing a 9.08% stake of the common stock.
In Evolving Systems Inc (NASDAQ:EVOL), sliced its position to 833,346 shares, from 834,505 shares. The current stake amasses 7.25% of the company’s common stock.
Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN), is another company where the fund sliced its position to 859,088 shares from 861,600 shares held in the third quarter. The current position amasses 5.56% stake of the common stock.
In Vishay Precision Group Inc (NYSE:VPG), the fund slightly trimmed its position to 819,948 shares from 833,348 shares as reported in the previous 13F filing. The current holding equals a 6.45% stake of the common stock.
The holding in Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC), was sliced to 747,030 shares from 758,330 shares held at the end of the third quarter. The current position is equivalent to 8.86% stake in the company’s common stock.
Rand Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLOG), is another company where the fund slightly edged down is position to 1.71 million shares from 1.72 million shares held at the end of the previous quarter. The current holding equals to a 9.55% stake of the company’s common stock.
In Perceptron, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRCP), Rutabaga Capital, reduced its stake to 533,896 shares from 535,396 shares held at the end of September 2013. The current stake amasses 6.0% of the company’s common stock.
Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX), is another company where the fund trimmed its position to 962096 shares from 972663 shares held at the end of the third quarter. The current holding equals a 6.99% stake of the company’s common stock.
In Key Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTEC), the fund reduced its holding to 575,904 shares, from 577,104 shares held at the end of the third quarter, as revealed in 13F. The current position is equivalent to 9.17% stake of the common stock.
In Image Sensing Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISNS), Rutabaga sliced its position to 497,344 shares, from 499,540 shares held at the end of the third quarter. The current holding equals to a 10.00% stake of the company’s common stock.
The fund dumped Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIOX) from its equity portfolio. It held 1.23 million shares at the end of the third quarter with a reported value of $4.55 million.
Disclosure: none
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