Despite considerable upheaval in technology growth stocks in March, few investors who shunned the tech sector had much to show in first-quarter performance reports. The trend was evident in the broader Russell 3000 value and growth indexes. Investors are broadening their search for stocks to buy, Keeley said. In addition to systematic share repurchase programs, which often boost stock prices, a surge in takeovers and leveraged buyouts by managements is under way.
People realize they have to do something.
Moreover, low-priced companies are being acquired by other companies at a healthy rate, even though the prices paid often are less than shareholders had hoped. Even some 1970s-style hostile bids have surfaced. Rogers was looking to dump Wesley Jessen, which rallied strongly in 1999 but had slumped badly this year. His domestic counterpart, Robert Sanborn of the Oakmark Fund, recently decided to surrender management of his fund amid a dismal short-term track record. Oakmark International was down 0.2 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 9.0 percent drop at the Oakmark Fund.