Longleaf Partners Funds, which is managed by Southeastern Asset Management where Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio) is chairman and CEO, has nearly tripled its stake in Arkansas timber company Deltic Timber Corporation (DEL, Financial) according to filings on June 10.
Longleaf’s small cap fund holds 1,296,055 shares of the company, or 10.3% of its outstanding shares, after increasing the stake by 196.58%. The fund had started a position in Deltic Timber Corp in the third quarter of 2014 and has since been increasing the stake in each subsequent quarter.
Year to date, the company’s share price has declined 1.65% to close at $67.27 per share on Friday.
A $845.8 million market cap company, Deltic Timber owns 530,000 acres of timberland and two sawmills in Arkansas and North Louisiana, and also engages in real estate development.
For the first quarter, the company had $48.5 million in revenue, a decrease from $55.4 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net income totaled $1.9 million, a decrease from $4.9 million a year ago.
The company attributed the decline to softness in the lumber market due to winter weather conditions and a fire at one of its plants that temporarily halted production.
Deltic Timber has a P/E ratio of 52.1. Its P/B ratio at 3.02 is close to a three-year low, and its P/S ratio at 3.7 is close to a five-year low.
