Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), the founder and former chairman of Brandes Investment Partners, recently filed the firm's 13F report for the second quarter of 2023. Brandes, who retired in 2018, is renowned for his value investing approach and has authored the book "Value Investing Today". His firm, established in 1974, is a leading investment advisory firm that manages a variety of global equity and fixed-income assets for investors worldwide. It was among the first investment firms to invest globally using a value approach.
Portfolio Overview
As of the end of Q2 2023, the firm's portfolio contained 151 stocks with a total value of $4.96 billion. The top holdings were ERJ (5.49%), CX (3.75%), and WFC (3.21%).
Top Three Trades of the Quarter
The following were the firm's top three trades of the quarter:
Cemex SAB de CV (CX, Financial)
Brandes Investment Partners reduced their investment in Cemex SAB de CV (CX) by 8,704,299 shares, impacting the equity portfolio by 1.02%. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $6.35. As of August 15, 2023, CX had a price of $7.99 and a market cap of $11.58 billion. The stock has returned 76.16% over the past year. GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 8 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 7 out of 10. In terms of valuation, CX has a price-earnings ratio of 0.51, a price-book ratio of 0.94, a EV-to-Ebitda ratio of 11.62 and a price-sales ratio of 0.64.
HCA Healthcare Inc (HCA, Financial)
The firm also reduced their investment in HCA Healthcare Inc (HCA) by 113,930 shares, impacting the equity portfolio by 0.64%. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $277.79. As of August 15, 2023, HCA had a price of $268.73 and a market cap of $73.09 billion. The stock has returned 25.26% over the past year. GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 4 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 10 out of 10. In terms of valuation, HCA has a price-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.84, a EV-to-Ebitda ratio of 8.34 and a price-sales ratio of 1.22.
WR Berkley Corp (WRB, Financial)
During the quarter, Brandes Investment Partners bought 325,856 shares of WR Berkley Corp (WRB), bringing their total holding to 409,372 shares. This trade had a 0.39% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $59.02. As of August 15, 2023, WRB had a price of $62.98 and a market cap of $16.22 billion. The stock has returned -3.94% over the past year. GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 6 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 7 out of 10. In terms of valuation, WRB has a price-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-book ratio of 2.35, a price-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 1.06, a EV-to-Ebitda ratio of 9.96 and a price-sales ratio of 1.52.
