Hillenbrand and the Great Unwinding

Bernzott Capital Advisors, they sold everything. All 389,330 shares of Hillenbrand. About $10.53 million worth, give or take. It’s just money, of course. But it’s their money. And Hillenbrand, well, Hillenbrand was just…there. So it goes.

What Happened

A filing. That’s how we know these things. Bernzott Capital Advisors, they reported it. They used to own a piece of Hillenbrand. Now they don’t. The value went poof. About $10.53 million. It’s always about the money, isn’t it? The quarter-end numbers shifted, reflecting the sale. And the universe didn’t even blink.

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What Else to Know

Bernzott is out. Completely. Hillenbrand represents, well, nothing of their holdings now. A big zero. It’s a clean break. They’ve moved on to other puzzles. Other fleeting hopes. Here’s what they do still own:

  • NYSEMKT:VT: $21.7 million. A substantial pile.
  • NASDAQ:CMCO: $9.3 million. Not bad.
  • NYSE:SLGN: $8.2 million. Keeping busy.
  • NYSE:TIC: $8.0 million. The market keeps turning.
  • NYSE:VSH: $7.9 million. More puzzles.

Hillenbrand’s stock? Down 6.1% over the last year. Underperforming the S&P 500 by a depressing 21.6 percentage points. Numbers. They mean something to some people. So it goes.

Company Overview

Metric Value
Price (as of market close February 3, 2026) N/A
Market capitalization $2.25 billion
Revenue (TTM) $2.67 billion
Net income (TTM) $43.10 million

Company Snapshot

They make things. Process equipment. Injection molding. Funeral products. A little bit of everything, really. Designing, manufacturing, servicing. For all sorts of customers. Plastics. Food. Chemicals. Even funeral homes. It’s a diversified industrial manufacturer. Operating globally. Like so many others. So it goes.

What This Transaction Means for Investors

Fund managers, they shuffle things around. They have their reasons. Growth assumptions. Market conditions. In this case, Hillenbrand was getting bought. By Lone Star Funds. For $32 a share. Cash. It’s a tidy sum. And Bernzott, well, they saw the writing on the wall.

The stock was already close to the buyout price. Why bother holding on? Unless you’re expecting a bidding war, of course. But those are rare. Lone Star was paying a 30% premium. A nice little profit. For someone. So it goes.

Hillenbrand had been down 20% to 39% earlier in 2025. Before the offer. A good time to sell. Free up some cash. Deploy it elsewhere. The market is full of opportunities. And disappointments. Mostly disappointments. But that’s life, isn’t it?

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2026-02-06 01:52