BOSTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, who built a reputation for finding undervalued stocks, boosted his stake in Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 12 percent during the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. But his holdings are now worth less than they were at the end of the second quarter, sparking speculation among hedge fund industry investors that Lampert's clients might suffer a rare loss this year. According to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ESL Investments held 27.8 million Citigroup shares at the end of September. Citigroup is Lampert's third biggest holding after retailer Sears Holdings (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and AutoNation Inc (AN.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Lampert, who has delivered annualized returns of 24 percent since 1988, has been pouring money into Citigroup all year. At the end of the second quarter he owned 24.8 million shares, up from 15.2 million at the end of the first quarter. On Wednesday, when Citi's shares closed at $36.04, Lampert's stake in the company was worth roughly $1 billion, down from roughly $1.3 billion the shares were worth at the end the second quarter. Citigroup, which had been under pressure for some time, recently said it had billions of dollars in losses related to mortgage-backed securities. Its chairman and chief executive officer, Charles Prince, resigned earlier this month. More: http://www.reuters.com/article/fundsFundsNews/idUSN1424349620071115
More on Eddie: "Lampert Said to Lose $4.47 Billion in 3rd Quarter" http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/lampert-said-to-lose-447-billion-in-3rd-quarter/
i wonder what he's planning with citi... there's no way he is in it for just share price appreciation as a passive minority investor. is he gonna pul a carl icahn?
Well, well, well, he holds retail, financial and auto industry stocks. He should go in housing and he'd have a 4 of a kind. What will his fund do, that's some heavy losses. Margin calls?