This article discusses the top 5 stock picks Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP at the end of June 2022. To know more about Icahn Capital LP’s latest activist bets, the fund’s history, and changes it made to its portfolio recently, please check out Billionaire Carl Icahn’s Latest Portfolio: Top 10 Stock Picks.
5. Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE:NWL)
Icahn Capital LP’s Stake Value: $629,661,000
Percentage of Icahn Capital LP’s 13F Portfolio: 3.01%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE:NWL) was the only consumer discretionary company among Icahn Capital LP’s top five stock picks at the end of Q2. Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE:NWL) designs, manufactures and distributes consumer and commercial products, which include Home Appliances, Home Solutions, Learning and Development, Outdoor and Recreation and Commercial Solutions products around the world. Formerly known as Newell Rubbermaid Inc., the Atlanta, Georgia- based company was founded in 1903 and currently employs 30,000 people.
Newell Brands Inc.’s (NYSE:NWL) stock has dropped close to 60% in the last 10 years, but the company has managed to pay a dividend every year in the previous 22 years. Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE:NWL) currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, which translates into a forward annual dividend of $0.92 per share and, based on the stock’s last trading price, into an attractive annual dividend yield of 4.7%.
4. FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)
Icahn Capital LP’s Stake Value: $728,172,000
Percentage of Icahn Capital LP’s 13F Portfolio: 3.49%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Icahn Capital LP initiated an activist stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by purchasing 18.97 million shares of the company during the first quarter of 2021 and kept that stake unchanged till the end of June 2022. Prior to Mr. Icahn building a position in the company, FirstEnergy Corp.’s (NYSE:FE) stock had declined considerably as the company found itself embroiled in a controversy over the bailout of the nuclear power plants it operates.
Immediately after initiating his stake, Mr. Icahn asked for two seats on the company’s board for his nominees, which FirstEnergy Corp.’s (NYSE:FE) board promptly agreed to on March 16, 2021. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the request for these board seats, which will come with voting rights, only in July this year. On August 15, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) announced that it had completed the closure of an ash landfill for a power station in West Virginia, which has paved the way for the property to be used for the construction of a utility-scale solar facility.
3. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)
Icahn Capital LP’s Stake Value: $746,513,000
Percentage of Icahn Capital LP’s 13F Portfolio: 3.57%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has turned out to be one of the most successful active bets for Mr. Icahn during his investing career. His firm first reported initiating a stake in the world’s second-largest LNG operator in mid-2015 and immediately went to work by asking the management to make changes.
Over the years, and after a tumultuous period, the partnership between Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) and Icahn Capital LP finally culminated in the former announcing on June 15 that it entered into a Purchase Agreement to buyback $350 million worth of the company’s shares from Mr. Icahn and his affiliates. As a result, Icahn Capital LP unloaded 42% of its holdings or 4.11 million shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during Q2, bringing its stake down to 5.61 million shares at the end of June.
On August 23, the price of natural gas in the United States breached the $10/MMBtu mark for the first time since 2008. This surge in natural gas prices has reflected well on Cheniere Energy, Inc.’s (NYSE:LNG) shares as they also made their lifetime high of $172.25 last week and are currently trading very close to it.
2. CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI)
Icahn Capital LP’s Stake Value: $2,385,157,000
Percentage of Icahn Capital LP’s 13F Portfolio: 11.43%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) continued to remain one of Icahn Capital LP’s top stock picks at the end of the second quarter, with the firm continuing to own over 70% of the outstanding shares of the company during that period. Shares of CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) have appreciated close to 200% in the last one year, and so has their popularity among smart money investors. From just 13 hedge funds in our database of 895 funds disclosing a stake in the petroleum refiner at the end of 2021, the number jumped to 22 at the end of Q2.
For its second quarter of FY 2022, CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.45 on revenue of $3.1 billion, beating analysts’ expectations by $0.15 and $710 million, respectively, on August 2. Along with the earnings release, the company also provided guidance for the third quarter. It expects capital expenditure to be between $63 million and $83 million, Petroleum total throughput in the $190,000 and $205,000 range, and renewables throughput between the $4,500 and $6,000 range during Q3.
1. Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP)
Icahn Capital LP’s Stake Value: $13,360,695,000
Percentage of Icahn Capital LP’s 13F Portfolio: 64.05%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 2
There is no surprise that Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) continued to remain Icahn Capital LP’s largest holding at the end of the second quarter as over 85% of the company is owned by Mr. Icahn directly and indirectly. Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) is a limited partnership that can be considered a holding company for Mr. Icahn’s investments in various industries. Barring Mr. Icahn, the only other fund manager tracked by us who disclosed a stake in Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) at the end of Q2 was Murray Stahl, whose Horizon Asset Management held 461,242 shares of the company.
Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) reported earnings per share loss of $0.41 on revenue of $3.5 billion for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2022. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $2.00 per share, which translates into an astonishing dividend yield of over 15% based on the last trading price of its stock.
You can also look at Paul Singer’s Latest Portfolio: Top 10 Stock Picks and Top 10 Technology Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Cliff Asness
