21 Apr 2021 10:50
BlackRock North American Income Trust Plc - Portfolio UpdateBlackRock North American Income Trust Plc - Portfolio Update
PR Newswire
London, April 21
The information contained in this release was correct as at 31 March 2021. Information on the Company’s up to date net asset values can be found on the London Stock Exchange Website at:
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html.Â
BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC (LEI:549300WWOCXSC241W468)All information is at 31 March 2021 Â and unaudited.Performance at month end with net income reinvestedÂ
| One Month | Three Months | Six Months | One Year | Three Years | Five Years | |
| Net asset value | 7.8% | 10.0% | 20.9% | 35.2% | 37.4% | 81.5% |
| Share price | 12.9% | 14.9% | 28.6% | 42.4% | 46.1% | 93.0% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index | 7.3% | 10.2% | 21.2% | 40.3% | 38.9% | 81.5% |
At month end
| Net asset value - capital only: | 191.52p |
| Net asset value - cum income: | 193.37p |
| Share price: | 190.50p |
| Discount to cum income NAV: | 1.5% |
| Net yield1: | 4.2% |
| Total assets including current year revenue: | ÂŁ154.3m |
| Gearing: | Nil |
| Options overwrite | 18.3% |
| Ordinary shares in issue2: | 79,784,044 |
| Ongoing charges3: | 1.1% |
1 Based on four quarterly interim dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 5 May 2020, 6 August 2020 and 4 November 2020 for the year ended 31 October 2020 and on 23 March 2021 for the year ending 31 October 2021, and based on the share price as at close of business on 31 March 2021.
² Excluding 20,577,261 ordinary shares held in treasury.
³ Ongoing charges represent the management fee and all other operating expenses excluding interest as a % of average shareholders’ funds for the year ended 31 October 2020.
| Sector Analysis | Total Assets* (%) |
| Financials | 27.0 |
| Health Care | 16.6 |
| Information Technology | 11.1 |
| Consumer Staples | 7.8 |
| Energy | 7.2 |
| Industrials | 6.9 |
| Communication Services | 6.0 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 5.7 |
| Utilities | 4.2 |
| Materials | 1.6 |
| Net Current Assets | 5.9 |
| ----- | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== | |
| Country Analysis | Total Assets* (%) |
| United States | 75.1 |
| Germany | 4.1 |
| United Kingdom | 4.1 |
| Netherlands | 3.9 |
| France | 2.9 |
| Ireland | 1.7 |
| Switzerland | 0.9 |
| Norway | 0.8 |
| Canada | 0.6 |
| Net Current Assets | 5.9 |
| ----- | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== | |
| Top 10 Holdings | Country | % Total Assets |
| Citigroup | United States | 3.7 |
| Wells Fargo | United States | 3.2 |
| American International Group | United States | 2.7 |
| Verizon Communications | United States | 2.6 |
| Cisco Systems | United States | 2.6 |
| Bank of America | United States | 2.5 |
| Anthem | United States | 2.3 |
| General Motors | United States | 2.2 |
| BAE Systems | United Kingdom | 2.0 |
| Comcast Corporation | United States | 2.0 |
Tony DeSpirito, Franco Tapia and David Zhao, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
For the one-month period ended 31 March 2021, the Company’s NAV increased by 7.8% and the share price by 12.9% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned 7.3% for the period.
The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the health care sector. Notably, stock selection and an overweight exposure to health care providers and services proved beneficial, as did selection decisions in the pharmaceuticals industry. In communication services, the decision to not invest in the entertainment and interactive media and services industries boosted relative returns, as did stock selection among media companies. Other contributors during the period included stock selection in the financials and consumer staples sectors.
The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection and allocation decisions in the industrials sector. Notably, stock selection in the aerospace and defence and industrial conglomerates industries weighed on relative returns, as did the decision to not invest in machinery and building products companies. In materials, an underweight exposure to the chemicals and metals and mining industries also proved costly. At the industry level, other detractors during the month included stock selection in specialty retail and food products.
The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy detracted from relative performance during the month, as did the portfolio’s cash position, amid rising U.S. stock prices.
Transactions/Options
Transactions: In March, the portfolio added to existing positions in Lear, The Williams and Kinder Morgan. Conversely, we exited our position in ONEOK and reduced our exposure to DuPont De Nemours, Marathon Petroleum Corporation and American Express.
Options: As of 31 March 2021, the Company’s options exposure was 18.3% and the delta of the options was 85.1.
Positioning
As of the period end, the Company’s largest overweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the financials, health care and energy sectors. The Company’s largest underweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the industrials, real estate and materials sectors.
Source: BlackRock. Data as of 31 March 2021.
21 April 2021
Latest information is available by typing blackrock.com/uk/brna on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.