Alpha Buying: Why Smart Money Is Moving Into Offshore and Affordable Housing

It is that time again.

13Fs are beginning to flow into the SEC offices, and the mojo wires are burning up with media types and the Instant Experts of the Internet psychoanalyzing what Warren Buffett, Bill Ackman, and Cathie Wood have been buying and selling.

I do not care what they are doing.

There are millions of eyeballs following every move of the best-known investors, which will leave little opportunity for gaining useful insights or creating an edge.

For the next several days, all the crackerjack-box Nuclear Engineers and global trade experts of Twitter will be experts in the reasons and beliefs that drive Warren and Bill to buy what they bought and sell what they sold.

I would rather follow those investors that are out of the limelight putting up steady returns that crush the markets and avoid the spotlight.

Being one of a small handful of people stealing ideas from a brilliant investor can still create a meaningful edge.

Robotti and Company is a great example of an out-of-the-limelight investment firm that has been quietly beating the market for decades. It is worth the time to go through the quarterly filings and see what gems we can uncover.

The Thundering Herd of the Web will not be in front of you and bid the shares up several points before you can finish your search.

They are not a hot money shop that owns the market darlings of the day and hold stocks for a long time, so most of you reading this will also ignore them.

Very few people active in the markets today will care for Robotti’s five-year average holding period.

When it comes to finding true value in the markets, few have demonstrated the consistent discipline and unwavering commitment of Bob Robotti. What I’ve always admired about Robotti’s approach is that it isn’t flashy or complicated – it’s simply buying good businesses at bargain prices and having the patience to let the market eventually recognize their worth.

Robotti’s story is a perfect example of how focusing on fundamentals can build a successful investment career. After graduating from Bucknell University and earning his MBA in Accounting from Pace University, he started in public accounting. This might seem like an unlikely beginning for an investment legend, but those accounting skills would become the foundation of his analytical approach.

The turning point in Robotti’s career came during an audit assignment for Tweedy Browne, where conversations with Joe Reilly Sr. introduced him to value investing principles.

Think about that – while most young professionals were just trying to get their work done, Robotti was absorbing wisdom from a partner at one of the most respected value shops on Wall Street.

That’s how real investing education happens.

Before launching his own firm, Robotti cut his teeth as a vice president at Gabelli & Company. Working alongside another value investing legend in Mario Gabelli surely sharpened his skills.

In 1983, Robotti partnered with Dan Eng to launch Robotti & Eng, Inc. Their initial focus was uncovering undervalued opportunities in pink sheet equities.

This wasn’t glamorous work – they were digging through the market’s bargain bin while everyone else was chasing the hot stocks of the day.

The firm eventually evolved into Robotti & Company, expanding their offerings while never abandoning their core value philosophy.

What’s remarkable about Robotti’s investment approach is its consistency. For over 40 years, he’s stuck to the classic Benjamin Graham principles that markets frequently misprice securities. While others chased quarterly estimates and momentum plays, Robotti focused on understanding businesses’ normalized earnings power before the market caught on.

The lesson from Robotti’s career is straightforward: buy good businesses at bargain prices, focus on the long term, and ignore market noise. While everyone else is chasing the latest fad, deep value investors like Robotti quietly compound wealth year after year.

In a market dominated by AI, crypto, and whatever else CNBC is hyping this week, Robotti’s patient, disciplined approach is refreshing. Find businesses trading below intrinsic value, understand what the market is missing, and wait. That’s how real wealth is built in the stock market, and Bob Robotti has proven it for four decades.

Here are the top three largest purchases by Robotti and Company in the first quarter of 2025:

Tidewater Inc. TDW is the global leader in offshore support vessels, serving the international energy industry with a fleet of workboats that transport crews, equipment, and supplies to offshore drilling platforms and production facilities. The company operates primarily in deepwater and harsh environment markets, with a presence in every major offshore basin, including the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, the North Sea, and Southeast Asia.

Following a successful post-bankruptcy restructuring, Tidewater has refocused on disciplined capital allocation, maintaining one of the youngest and most capable fleets in the industry. With improving offshore exploration and production activity, tight vessel supply, and growing demand for high-spec tonnage, Tidewater is positioned to benefit from rising day rates and extended contract durations. The company has low leverage, strong free cash flow generation, and significant operating leverage as vessel utilization recovers, making it a compelling deep-value play for investors with a long-term horizon on offshore energy markets.

Robotti is obviously bullish on the offshore oil and gas business as he also was a buyer of SEACOR Marine Holdings SMHI.

SEACOR is one of those under-the-radar names that’s quietly critical to keeping the offshore energy world spinning. Based out of Houston, SEACOR runs a global fleet of support vessels—platform supply boats, fast crew movers, and liftboats that haul people, gear, and equipment out to oil rigs and wind installations all over the world. If something’s happening offshore, there’s a decent chance a SEACOR boat is nearby helping make it happen.

The business leans heavily into safety, reliability, and increasingly, greener operations. They’ve got a solid footprint in every major offshore basin, serving big-name oil companies, independents, and even the offshore wind crowd. It’s a gritty, asset-heavy business, but SEACOR’s diversified fleet and global reach give it staying power.

Legacy Housing Corporation LEGH is one of those quietly solid businesses that doesn’t make a lot of headlines, but it keeps chugging along, making money and filling a real need. Headquartered in Bedford, Texas, Legacy is the fourth-largest manufacturer of mobile and tiny homes in the U.S., with a stronghold across the South.

They’ve been at it since 2005, and their model is pretty simple. They build affordable homes, sell them through a network of company stores and independent dealers, and offer financing so folks can actually afford them.

What sets Legacy apart is how integrated their business is. They manufacture the homes themselves, finance them, and even sell directly to communities and consumers. That vertical setup keeps margins healthy, and you can see it in the numbers.

While revenue dipped slightly in 2024 to $184 million, net income jumped over 13% to $61.6 million. That’s thanks to some smart moves on the finance side and keeping expenses under control.

In a world where affordable housing is in short supply and demand just keeps rising, Legacy Housing looks like a business that’s built to last and to keep throwing off cash along the way.

These three stocks will not be ranked at the top of today’s social media searches.

They will not get much, if any, airtime on CNBC or Fox Business.

They are, however, solid companies trading at bargain prices that could deliver huge gains over the next several years.