T Boone Pickens Raises Exposure to His Favorite Stocks

#3 Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI)

– Shares held (as of June 30): 587,890
– Total Value (as of June 30): $11.01 million
– Percent of Portfolio (as of June 30): 4.36%

BP Capital raised its stake in Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) by 250,256 shares (74%) in the second quarter, giving it a June-end holding of 587,890 shares. After having cut its dividend sharply due to the increasing difficulty in raising growth capital from the capital markets last year, Kinder Morgan has made a comeback. Shares of the company are almost double what they were in late January, as growth capital is now more affordable and the fundamentals in the energy sector have bottomed. Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway owned 26.5 million shares of Kinder Morgan at the end of the second quarter.

#2 Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN)

– Shares held (as of June 30): 635,104
– Total Value (as of June 30): $11.69 million
– Percent of Portfolio (as of June 30): 4.63%

Pickens inched up his holdings in Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) by 16% from the end of March to the end of June, to 635,104 shares. Those shares were worth $11.69 million at the end of the second quarter and represented 4.63% of Pickens’ equity portfolio. As a collective, the smart money also raised its holdings. According to our data, 27 funds owned $271.02 million worth of Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN)’s stock, which accounted for 9.70% of the float on June 30, versus 26 funds and $239.16 million, respectively, a quarter earlier. Analysts at Imperial like management’s cost cuts, the company’s healthy balance sheet, and Superior’s exposure to the onshore E&P service sector. 

#1 WPX Energy Inc (NYSE:WPX)

– Shares held (as of June 30): 1.31 million
– Total Value (as of June 30): $12.19 million
– Percent of Portfolio (as of June 30): 4.83%

With a holding of 1.31 million shares at the end of June, up by 180,596 shares from the end of the first quarter, WPX Energy Inc (NYSE:WPX) is T Boone Pickens’ top energy pick. Given that it is Pickens’ top pick, it isn’t surprising that WPX has also done very well, more than tripling from its February lows and gaining more than 124% year-to-date. WPX shares have surged due to stronger crude prices and a recent craze for all things Permian (unconventional production costs in the basin are very competitive). If crude prices continue rising, WPX will eventually turn profitable in the coming quarters. Other smart money funds also agree with Pickens on the stock, as the number of funds from our database with holdings in WPX Energy Inc (NYSE:WPX) rose by 10 quarter-over-quarter to 40 at the end of June.

Disclosure: none