The largest new holding in Robertson’s portfolio was Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR). The cable, Internet, and phone company has been unprofitable on a trailing basis, and is expected to have very low earnings in 2013. The company is expected to improve despite its current trajectory not looking particularly strong: in the third quarter of 2012, revenue was up only 4% from the same period in 2011. Fellow billionaire Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital Management had over $1 billion invested in Charter at the end of September (check out more of Marks’ favorite stocks), making it the largest position on Oaktree’s portfolio as well as Robertson’s largest new pick. We think that we’d like to watch the company and wait for it to see a quarter or two of profitability.
A number of Tiger Cubs had already been in Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)– billionaire Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital increased its stake by 26% during the third quarter to a total of 1.4 million shares (find more stocks Mandel has been buying)– and apparently they convinced their mentor to buy some shares. Robertson initiated a position of about 20,000 shares. Priceline, which recently purchased Kayak, currently trades at 18 times forward earnings estimates. Earnings were up 27% last quarter versus a year earlier, based on increases in both revenue and margins. We think that it’s well worth considering in terms of “growth at a reasonable price.”
Robertson was also buying the travel website industry through reviews site Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP). Tripadvisor’s recent business performance has been good, though not as good as Priceline’s, and it is actually priced at a premium to that company; for example, its forward P/E is 22. It seems to us that Priceline, as the market leader and as a company which has been experiencing higher growth, should be trading at a higher multiple. We’d also note that 17% of Tripadvisor’s outstanding shares are held short. Priceline seems like a better way to play the industry.
Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) was another new stock pick in Robertson’s portfolio. The company is a $3 billion market cap shipper of liquefied natural gas, which has the potential to become a major energy source. Shipping of the commodity is also likely to be common, given the potential combination of high U.S. production and high demand in the developing world. Golar reported a 56% increase in earnings in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2011, and net income more than tripled. At 27 times trailing earnings, the growth rates could be much lower and it would still be a good growth stock. This stock is widely shorted as well, however, so we’d be cautious and would want to look more closely at the company.
Robertson also liked private equity firm The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), buying about 330,000 shares of the company. Blackstone’s stock carries a beta of 2.2, indicating that it is very responsive to fluctuations in the broader market. Analysts are bullish on the company, with consensus earnings estimates implying a forward P/E multiple of 7 and a five-year PEG ratio of 0.5. That’s interesting, but it’s not clear that Blackstone is doing particularly well at present and so again we’d have to investigate in order to determine if it is truly that good a value.
