KEY TAKEAWAYS
- David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital stayed committed to the turbulent regional banking industry in the fourth quarter, adding positions in New York Community Bancorp. and First Citizens BancShares.
- Both lenders were involved in buying into troubled regional banks during last spring’s turmoil.
- Greenlight also bought Alight, AerCap, Kenvue and Viatris and exited Southwestern Energy.
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital stayed committed to the turbulent regional banking industry in the fourth quarter, adding positions in New York Community Bancorp. (NYCB) and First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA).
Both regional lenders bought into failed institutions after last spring’s banking turmoil sunk Silicon Valley and Signature banks.
According to its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Greenlight bought a $35.2 million stake in First Citizens BancShares, a regional lender based in Raleigh, N.C. First Citizens took over Silicon Valley Bank after it collapsed in March.
The hedge fund also increased its position in NYCB during the quarter. Einhorn’s firm bought 104,500 shares, boosting its stake in the bank to 1.8 million shares, worth $18.7 million at the end of the quarter. NYCB bought the failed New York-based Signature Bank last year.
Shares of New York Community Bancorp have dropped nearly 50% in the last month amid rising concerns about its viability and its exposure to commercial real estate. First Citizens’ shares, on the other hand, have gained 11% in the past month.
New Positions in Alight, Aercap
Greenlight also bought new positions in four companies in the fourth quarter, led by a $78.9 million stake in Alight (ALIT), a cloud-based professional services provider. Other new positions included aircraft leasing operation AerCap Holdings (AER), consumer products firm Kenvue (KVUE), and Viatris (VTRS). The firm also added a stake in the aerospace defense sector with the purchase of two exchange-traded funds focused on the industry.
Increase in Graphic Packaging, Tenet Healthcare
The firm increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK) by 32% to 2.5 million shares worth $62.6 million at the end of the quarter. It also boosted its position in hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC) by 44% to a stake worth $99 million at the end of the period. It also slightly added to its stake in The ODP Corp. (ODP), the owner of Office Depot, boosting it to 1.7 million shares, worth $98 million.
Exits Southwestern Energy, Resideo
Greenlight sold its positions in Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) and Resideo Technologies, Inc (REZI) during the quarter.
As for with every large hedge fund’s investment disclosure, Greenlights’s 13F is backward-looking and holdings may have shifted by the time the report is made public.