February 2017 in This Issue
February 2017 In this issue: Hanesbrands Inc. Legg Mason, Inc. Liberty Global plc (Liberty Global Group) “To be a good investor, you have to be right much of the time. To be a great investor, you have to recognize how often you may be wrong.” – Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal, February 2015 February 1, 2017 Volume XLIII, Issue I SEARCHING FOR VALUE SINCE 1975 Page 1 UPDATE: Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) ($23.23) Hanesbrands, the world’s largest basic apparel company, boasts a portfolio of first-rate brands that hold the #1 or #2 market share position in underwear, intimate apparel, hosiery, and activewear in 12 countries. The Company’s marquee brands include Hanes, Champion, Maidenform, Bali, Playtex, DIM, Berlei, and Bonds. A key component of HBI’s business model is the replenishment nature of its products (~85% of total revenues). Several issues have weighed on HBI shares over the past 2 years, culminating in a sharp sell-off in the stock after the Company reported poor 4Q 2016 results. HBI’s Innerwear segment (43% of sales and nearly 60% of operating profit) exhibited surprising weakness in the quarter as soft retail traffic trends were not fully offset by rapidly growing online sales. We do not believe that this recent weakness represents a secular shift in the purchasing frequency of HBI’s products, however. Rather, we believe that HBI is challenged by a temporary transition as customer purchasing migrates to online distribution channels from brick-and-mortar establishments. Online sales at HBI, which currently account for just 11% of U.S.
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