Value investor Bill Nygren scooping up travel and bank stocks during the market turmoil

Published Wed, Mar 11 20201:01 PM EDT

Jesse Pound @/in/jesse-pound @jesserpound

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only). Oakmark Funds portfolio manager Bill Nygren said he still believes in some of his biggest holdings despite the market correction, even those in some of the most battered sectors. Nygren said on CNBC's " Squawk on the Street " on Wednesday he has been buying in the mutual funds that he manages in recent weeks and is still bullish on certain stocks in the travel and financial industries. Travel stocks have fallen sharply during the coronavirus outbreak as travel demand falls, including cruise and airline stocks. However, Nygren said that Booking Holdings , is an example of a travel stock that should bounce back to its strong position once the outbreak is over. The company, which withdrew its first quarter guidance on Monday, has seen its stock fall more than 25% so far this year. "This is a business that we think has tremendous tailwinds and is competitively advantaged as more travel bookings go online. Now, is the rest of this year going to be good for Booking? Obviously not, with travel plans falling. But do you really think people are going to travel less in 2021 and 2022?," Nygren said. "And is there any fundamental change that would suggest that the online travel agents will get less business, less market share than we thought they would get a couple months ago? We sure don't think so, and in that environment Booking.com is really, really cheap," Nygren said. Nygren is bullish on financials as well, despite a rough start to 2020 for those stocks. The S & P 500 financials sector closed more than 22% below its Jan. 2 record high on Tuesday. Nygren said long-term investors should take a close look at Ally Financial , which is a large holding of Oakmark's. "They're aggressive repurchasers of their own shares. They sell at about two-thirds of book value. We think this is an extremely attractive stock for a long-term holder. And less travel this year really does very little to expectations of what they should own," he said. He also named Citigroup and Bank of America as banks that are cheap right now. "The competitive moats for these businesses just keep growing and growing. The services they provide to customers are highly valued. And if interest rates go negative and they can't earn their money on spreads, they'll have to earn their money on fees ... the service is valuable. If they have to change the pricing model, they will," Nygren said.

Bill Nygren

Michael L Abramson | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only).

Oakmark Funds portfolio manager Bill Nygren said he still believes in some of his biggest holdings despite the market correction, even those in some of the most battered sectors.

Nygren said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday he has been buying in the mutual funds that he manages in recent weeks and is still bullish on certain stocks in the travel and financial industries.