A 4-star fund manager's picks during volatility
The Dow Jones industrial average toyed with recording yet another triple-digit move on Wednesday, which would be its 10th in the last 11 trading sessions.
That kind of volatility hasn't been seen since June of 2013 when the taper tantrum was in full swing. But as erratic as the market moves may appear, Intrepid Capital's four-star rated fund manager, Mark Travis, believes a larger disconnect between price and value could benefit investors.
"These hiccups with high volatility really are opportunities for people if they'd look at it that way," he told CNBC's " Power Lunch " Wednesday.
Of those opportunities, Travis highlighted three small- and mid-cap stocks that looked most appealing in the wake of the recent market pullback.
American tech and defense company American Science and Engineering (NASDAQ: ASEI) develops and manufactures X-ray inspection and detection products. While its shares have slipped more than 10 percent over the last month, Travis highlighted the company as a possible takeover target for a bigger defense company.
"You get paid to wait with a 5 percent dividend and you have a balance sheet that is void of any liabilities," he said, adding that shares could spring as high as the low $50 range from the high $30s.
Holding company Leucadia National (NYSE: LUK) hasn't seen its shares fare much better in the last month, falling 11 percent. However, Travis highlighted the upside of the mini-equivalent to Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway after it acquired Jefferies and a foreign currency trader at a discount.
"If you do a book value analysis of all the holdings within Leucadia Holding Co., you end up with a material higher price," he said. "Shares today are below $21, and we think they're worth closer to $30."
On the year, drilling company Patterson-UTI has seen shares fall 10 percent, but Travis drew confidence from the fact that the company's horizontal drilling rigs aren't built until they've secured a three-year contract.
Buying at $15 or less wouldn't be a bad move to Travis, who sees shares rising as high as $24 a share. "I wouldn't own a lot of this as a portfolio waiting but I do think it's a material discount," he said.
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