Billionaire Activist Carl Icahn’s Top Picks and Big Moves

One of Icahn’s biggest moves in the quarter was on Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), as he increased his stake by 33% to 51.92 million shares. Icahn first initiated the position in August, and was successful in having three members appointed to the board. He also made known his intention to oust former CEO and Chairman Mark Frissora, who later stepped down for “personal reasons”. Frissora was replaced by an Icahn-approved CEO, John P. Tague, shortly afterwards.

The moves have yet to pay dividends in terms of shareholder value however, as Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) shares are down 20% since the end of August, and 5.25% year-to-date. Barry Rosenstein of JANA Partners, another activist investor in the company with ownership of 34.82 million shares at the end of 2014, recently asserted shares would triple in value over the next year.

Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV) is another of Icahn’s active positions during the past quarter, as he added 1.94 million shares to his holding, which now totals 16.27 million shares. Icahn has held his position in Navistar since the second half of 2011, and it’s been one of the rare cases where an investment of his has missed the mark. Navistar is down a full 50% since the middle of 2011, and has remained mostly flat over the past two years.

While Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV) is making a slow turnaround, and saw some unexpected growth in its U.S operations last year, its revenue and EBITDA growth over the past three years are still negative, and its market share has eroded. Navistar is also in the midst of an SEC fraud investigation, and is alleged to be withholding documents in the affair.

Lastly is Manitowoc Company Inc (NYSE:MTW), which was Icahn’s only new position during the fourth quarter, and one that was disclosed near the end of the year. As Ralph V. Whitworth’s Relational Investors had done earlier, Icahn made his intentions clear to push the company to spin off its food division into a separate business. By the end of January, Manitowoc had agreed to the spin-off, and shares have jumped over 15% since. Icahn will seemingly maintain a long-term position in both new companies, as it’s been announced he will have a board seat on both the current company, as well as the spun-off food division’s new company, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

Disclosure: None