Billionaire investing legend Carl Icahn of Icahn Capital has gained a reputation as a savvy investor and fearsome corporate raider, one who has tangled with the likes of Blockbuster Video and Time Warner in an effort to improve the value of his investments. If his wealth is anything to go by, he’s been rather successful in that regard. The 82-year-old is currently ranked 79th on Forbes’ real-time list of the world’s billionaires, with a personal fortune estimated at $17 billion.
Icahn came to greater attention among the American public following the Presidential elections in 2016, when he was named a special advisor on regulatory reform by fellow billionaire Donald Trump. Icahn was quickly caught up in a row that suggested he was using his position to try and benefit his hedge fund’s own investments, including pushing for regulatory reforms that would aid refiner CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI). He promptly resigned from the position following the scandal.
CVR Energy has been one of Icahn’s biggest winners of late, with the stock doubling in value over the past six months. In this article, we’ll take a look at that investment, plus the two other prominent energy stocks in Icahn Capital’s 13F portfolio as of the end of 2017, based on the hedge fund’s latest filing with the SEC.
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Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG)
How Many Cheniere Shares Icahn Owns: 32.68 million
How Much Money Icahn Has Invested in the Stock: $1.76 billion
Why Icahn Likes Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG): Icahn took a big stake in Cheniere in 2015 and promptly landed two board seats. Icahn told CNBC in 2015 that the company was misunderstood by the market and that its contracts were solid and accounted for 80% of the company’s production. Icahn also took issue with Jim Chanos‘ assertion that Cheniere was a “looming disaster” due to contracts that he believed were suspect, stating that they did their due diligence on them and they are “golden”.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG) Strikes Chinese Trade Pact: Cheniere became the first American exporter of liquefied natural gas to strike a deal with a Chinese state-owned energy company earlier this year, agreeing to send 1.2 million tons to China National Petroleum Corporation annually. China is one of the biggest LNG growth markets in the world, with the country’s imports of LNG rising by 50% in 2017 to 38 million tons. The bulk of China’s imports come from Australia, Malaysia, and Qatar. However, China is also attempting to lessen its need for LNG by building natural gas pipelines to multiple nearby countries.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG) Growth to Slow in 2018?: With no new liquefaction trains scheduled to be completed this year, growth is likely to slow considerably for the LNG producer, which completed its first four trains in 2016 and 2017, all ahead of schedule and within budget. Cheniere has predicted that each facility could generate as much as $500 million in EBITDA annually. However, Cheniere could firm up future expansion plans this year to help offset the lack of immediate growth.
Follow Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG)
Follow Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG)
On the next page we’ll look at two other energy stocks that Icahn owns, including a new position opened in the fourth-quarter.
