14 Feb Seth Klarman’s Baupost builds a large stake in one industrial name
Baupost Group’s Seth Klarman found a handful of buying opportunities last quarter as the longtime value investor continued to seek cheap hidden gems in an expensive stock market. The widely-followed hedge fund manager took a new stake in industrial product distributor Ferguson Enterprises , worth nearly $200 million at the end of 2024, according to a regulatory filing. Ferguson was Baupost’s seventh-largest holding as of Dec. 31. Shares of Ferguson fell about 10% last year, and are up 6.5% so far in 2025. The investor also established new positions in health insurer Humana as well as auto parts provider Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter. Humana suffered a sell-off of nearly 45% last year amid significantly higher spending on its members’ care in Medicare and Medicaid. Genuine Parts also lagged the market with a 16% loss last year. Baupost’s Seth Klarman Klarman, a follower of Benjamin Graham’s investing style, has drawn comparisons to Warren Buffett for his patient, disciplined approach, leading some to dub him “The Oracle of Boston.” The Harvard and Cornell grad published his now out-of-print investment guide, “Margin of Safety,” in 1991. The book now sells for thousands of dollars online. However, as growth stocks and technology shares continue to lead the stock market even after a decade of outperformance, value investors like Klarman have struggled through years of underperformance. Baupost gained only about 4% a year since 2014, while investors have pulled roughly $7 billion from the hedge fund in the past three years, according to Bloomberg News. Baupost is said to be refocusing on strategies that had been most lucrative to the firm, including distressed debt and special situations, event-driven equities and private investments. The hedge fund acquired shares in Sunrise Communications in the fourth quarter, building a stake worth about $100 million at the end of December, the filing showed. In October, John Malone’s Liberty Global completed the spin-off of Sunrise, its Swiss business, into a separate publicly-traded company. Among Baupost’s top 10 holdings, the hedge fund increased its positions in electrical distribution and services company Wesco International , building materials producer Eagle Materials as well as Restaurant Brands.