Amid Severe Decline In AUM, Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors Shuffles Portfolio Heading Into 2017

First Data Corp (NYSE:FDC)

– Shares Held by Omega Advisors (as of December 31): 8.57 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $121.66 Million

From being the top stock pick of Omega Advisors at the end of September, First Data Corp (NYSE:FDC) dropped a spot by the end of 2016 owing to the fund cutting its stake in the company by one-third during the fourth quarter. Hedge funds collectively became less bullish on the company during that time, as its ownership among those in our database fell by eight to 30 and the aggregate value of their holdings in it declined by almost $16 million to $645.38 million. The electronic commerce company has seen its stock move up slowly but steadily since the second-half of 2016. Although the stock is only trading close to its IPO price of $16 per share, it has registered a gain of nearly 15% so far in 2017. On February 13, First Data Corp (NYSE:FDC) reported its fourth quarter financial results. While analysts were expecting it to report EPS of $0.36 on revenue of $1.85 billion, the company declared EPS of $0.86 on revenue of $1.83 billion.

United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL)

– Shares Held by Omega Advisors (as of December 31): 1.76 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $128.26 Million

Even though Omega Advisors reduced its stake in United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) by 14%, the company managed to jump a spot to become the fund’s top equity pick going into 2017. United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) has reported better-than-expected earnings for the past four quarters and has bought back a large number of outstanding shares during that period, which has helped its stock move up significantly. However, some of the 80%-plus gains that the stock has enjoyed since June 2016 can also be attributed to the overall rally in equities following President Trump’s electoral victory, as well as influential investors like Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway disclosing a stake in the airline. Despite such a strong rally in a short period of time, most analysts continue to remain bullish on the stock. Currently, the 18 leading analysts and research firms on the Street who track the stock have an average rating of ‘Overweight’ and an average price target of $84.88 on it, suggesting further upside of 13%. The bullishness of analysts notwithstanding, hedge funds as a whole were less optimistic about the stock heading into 2017. During the fourth quarter, the number of investors that we cover which disclosed being long UAL declined by nine to 54, though the aggregate value of their holdings in the company increased by 58.7% to $5.93 billion.

Disclosure: None