Lampert Puts Money on Housing Rebound

[Bobby J]

Hmmmmm......
Lampert Puts Money
On Housing Rebound

Stakes Being Taken
In Battered Builders,
Lenders and Retailer
By GARY MCWILLIAMS
June 12, 2008; Page C4
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Edward S. Lampert is placing new bets on a U.S. housing recovery, buying stakes in beaten-up home builders, mortgage lenders and a home-improvement retailer.
Mr. Lampert's ESL Investments Inc., which owns half of department-store giant Sears Holdings Corp. and 40% of car retailer AutoNation Inc., has previously focused with mixed success on retail and bank stocks.

Recently, the Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund, which controls investments it valued at about $11.6 billion in its most recent government financial report, began picking up shares in hard-hit housing-related stocks. ESL acquired small stakes in U.S. home builders Centex Corp. and KB Home, according to its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filings. At recent prices, the stakes in the two home builders are valued at $10.4 million and $10.8 million, respectively.
ESL also is tip-toeing into mortgage origination and servicing, acquiring about four million shares of CIT Group Inc., a struggling subprime home and commercial lender, as well as 1.4 million shares of PHH Corp., a mortgage originator and mortgage-service company. The shares are valued currently at about $35.5 million and $25.2 million, respectively. ESL spokesman Steve Lipin declined to comment on the investments.
Mr. Lampert's purchases come as some analysts think the housing market's decline may be nearing an end.
In another bet on a housing turnaround, Mr. Lampert this spring increased his stake in Atlanta-based home-improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. ESL now holds about 22.7 million shares valued at $590 million, up from 16.7 million shares last year.
http://by128w.bay128.mail.live.com/...54680-9621-4f64-ad93-04855288a9c4&n=996218119

 

[SHELLY]

Must have paid for it by using all the extra money he's made from his Sears/Kmart bet.... oh, wait...scratch that.


"Revenues declined 5 percent to $11.1 million from $11.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Sears domestic's comparable store sales - sales at stores open at least a year - declined 9.8 percent, and Kmart's comparable store sales declined 7.1 percent.

"Sears Holdings has lagged its competitors in a big way, in part because of its struggles with its merchandising and inventory management, fundamental aspects of retail," wrote analyst Kimberly Picciola of Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. in a note.

In February, the company's most recent CEO, Aylwin B. Lewis, stepped down, and Sears has yet to find a replacement. The company has also undergone a substantial restructuring of its organization into five separate business units.

"The goal of making the merged Kmart and Sears into a retailing success has become increasingly less achievable, as same-store sales plunge and excuses abound," bond analyst Carol Levenson of New York-based Gimme Credit LLC wrote in a note, echoing Picciola's doubt about the company"


.

 

[Bobby J]

Must have. Becoming a billionare must be hard without consulting Shelly. Or are you Lampert?

 

[robertsondavies]

He (Lampert) is way underwater on these homebuilder positions already - the article doesn't mention that most of these positions were accumulated at much higher levels recently, than today's levels.

Hmmmmm......
Lampert Puts Money
On Housing Rebound

Stakes Being Taken
In Battered Builders,
Lenders and Retailer
By GARY MCWILLIAMS
June 12, 2008; Page C4
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Edward S. Lampert is placing new bets on a U.S. housing recovery, buying stakes in beaten-up home builders, mortgage lenders and a home-improvement retailer.
Mr. Lampert's ESL Investments Inc., which owns half of department-store giant Sears Holdings Corp. and 40% of car retailer AutoNation Inc., has previously focused with mixed success on retail and bank stocks.

Recently, the Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund, which controls investments it valued at about $11.6 billion in its most recent government financial report, began picking up shares in hard-hit housing-related stocks. ESL acquired small stakes in U.S. home builders Centex Corp. and KB Home, according to its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filings. At recent prices, the stakes in the two home builders are valued at $10.4 million and $10.8 million, respectively.
ESL also is tip-toeing into mortgage origination and servicing, acquiring about four million shares of CIT Group Inc., a struggling subprime home and commercial lender, as well as 1.4 million shares of PHH Corp., a mortgage originator and mortgage-service company. The shares are valued currently at about $35.5 million and $25.2 million, respectively. ESL spokesman Steve Lipin declined to comment on the investments.
Mr. Lampert's purchases come as some analysts think the housing market's decline may be nearing an end.
In another bet on a housing turnaround, Mr. Lampert this spring increased his stake in Atlanta-based home-improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. ESL now holds about 22.7 million shares valued at $590 million, up from 16.7 million shares last year.
http://by128w.bay128.mail.live.com/...54680-9621-4f64-ad93-04855288a9c4&n=996218119