"Tracking Carl Icahn’s Portfolio – Q2 2021 Update"
"Carl Icahn’s 13F portfolio value increased from $23.85B to $24.29B this quarter.They decreased Occidental Petroleum and dropped Herbalife during the quarter.Icahn Enterprises, Occidental Petroleum, and Cheniere Energy are the three largest positions.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Carl Icahn’s 13F portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Icahn’s regulatory  filed on 8/13/2021. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q1 2021.This quarter, Icahn’s 13F portfolio value increased ~2% from $23.85B to $24.29B. The number of holdings decreased from 19 to 17. The portfolio is very concentrated with the largest five positions accounting for ~75% of the entire holdings: Icahn Enterprises, Occidental Petroleum, Cheniere Energy, CVR Energy, and Newell Brands.Carl Icahn is best known for building sizable stakes in businesses and then pushing for changes to increase shareholder value. To learn more about his investing style and philosophy check out “”.Note 1: Earlier this week, Icahn  a substantial stake in Southwest Gas Holdings (SWX) and said he is opposed to their rumored acquisition of Questar Pipeline, Dominion Energy’s (D) transportation and storage business.Note 2: Icahn’s 13F filing is a consolidated report and so should not be viewed as a single portfolio. Specifically, Icahn Enterprises holds several of the businesses and the entities in turn hold Icahn Enterprises. For an idea on the business structure, check-out  (Slide 5).New Stakes:None.Stake Disposals:Herbalife (HLF): HLF was a 1.49% of the 13F portfolio stake first purchased in Q1 2013 in the high-teens price range. Q3 2016 saw a ~15% increase at prices between $29 and $34 and that was followed with a similar increase the following quarter at prices between $24 and $32. Q2 2018 saw the position sold down by ~25% at $52.50 per share. Last August 14.72M shares (~40% of his position of ~35M shares as of last quarter) were sold back to the company at $48.75 per share following Herbalife's self-tender offer. Last quarter saw a ~60% reduction at ~$48.50 per share. That was followed with the disposal this quarter at prices between $46 and $48. The stock currently trades at $42.62.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock-split done in April 2018.Tenneco Inc. (TEN): Tenneco was a small 0.38% portfolio position. It came as partial consideration for the acquisition of Federal-Mogul: Tenneco issued ~5.65M Class A shares and ~23.79M Class B (non-voting) shares. Q2 2020 saw a ~62% stake increase at prices between $2.32 and $12.56. There was a ~20% reduction in Q4 2020 while last quarter saw a roughly one-third increase. The position was disposed this quarter at prices between ~$10 and ~$22. The stock is now at $14.16.Note: The Class B non-voting shares are not in the 13F report.Stake Decreases:Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and wts: OXY is a top three 6.32% of the portfolio position established in Q2 2019 at ~$52 per share. Q3 2019 saw a ~23% selling at prices between $42 and $53 and that was followed with a ~15% reduction last quarter at prices between $37.25 and $44.50. The pattern reversed in Q2 2020: ~300% stake increase at an average cost of ~$14.60. Next quarter saw the position increased further thru the purchase of 19.3M warrants (strike 22, 8/3/2027 expiry) for ~$2.75 per warrant. There was a ~40% selling this quarter at prices between ~$23 and ~$33. The stock is now at ~$32. Their overall cost-basis is ~$22 per share.Welbilt Inc. (WBT) previously Manitowoc Food Service: The very small ~1% of the portfolio WBT stake was established as a result of the spin-off from Manitowoc. The spin-off terms called for one share of WBT for each share of MTW held. Icahn held 10.58M shares of MTW for which he received the same number of WBT shares. Regular-way trading started in early March 2016 with WBT at $13.41. It currently trades at $23.55 compared to Icahn’s overall cost-basis of ~$13. There was a ~18% stake increase in Q1 2020. This quarter saw a ~6% trimming.Note: Icahn controls ~9.5% of the business.Delek US Holdings (DK): DK is a very small 0.66% of the portfolio position. It came about as partial consideration of the special dividend paid by CVI Energy (0.1048 shares of DK for each CVI and the rest in cash). The stock currently trades at $18.25. They have 10.60% ownership stake in the business.Stake Increases:Icahn Enterprises (IEP): IEP position has seen consistent increases over the years. The position size increased from ~98M shares to ~102M shares in 2013, to ~109M shares in 2014, to ~117M shares in 2015, to ~130M shares in 2016, to ~158M shares in 2017, 175.4M in 2018, 197M in 2019, 222M shares in 2020, and 238M YTD 2021. The stock currently trades at $53.67.Note: IEP Book Value per share is ~$17 per share. The increase over the years is primarily due to them taking the dividend consideration in additional shares rather than cash. Regulatory filings since the quarter ended show them owning ~247M shares (~90.2% of business) of IEP. This is compared to ~238M shares in the 13F report.Xerox Corporation (XRX): XRX is a ~3% of the portfolio position established in Q4 2015 at prices between $24 and $32. Last two quarters have seen a ~25% stake increase. Their overall cost basis is ~$25 and they have a 16.22% beneficial ownership stake in the business including forward contracts. The stock is now at ~$21.Note 1: In December 2017, Icahn launched a proxy battle nominating four new board members in an effort to stop the Xerox-Fujifilm deal announced earlier. Last May, Xerox scrapped the deal with Fujifilm in a settlement with Icahn and Darwin Deason (another activist alongside Icahn).Note 2: Icahn’s activism earned him three board seats in 2016. Xerox spun-off Conduent and that transaction closed in January 2017. That was followed with a 1:4 stock-split in June. The prices quoted above are adjusted for these two transactions.Kept Steady:Cheniere Energy (LNG): LNG is a large (top five) 4.88% portfolio position. The bulk of it was purchased in Q3 2015 at prices between $47.50 and $70.50. Q4 2015 saw a ~15% increase at prices between $36 and $54. There was an about turn in Q2 2018: ~28% reduction at ~$65. Q4 2020 saw another ~20% selling at prices between ~$46 and ~$61. The stock currently trades at $98.80.Note: Icahn’s ownership stake in the business is ~7%.CVR Energy Inc. (CVI): CVI is a top five 5.26% of the 13F portfolio position first purchased in Q4 2011. The bulk of the current position (71.2M shares: ~71% of the whole business) was purchased through a $30 per share tender offer in H1 2012. The stock currently trades at $17.22.Note: Two MLPs were carved out since the 2012 tender: CVR Refining the refining portion and CVR Partners (UAN) the nitrogen fertilizer unit. CVR Energy had majority ownership stake in both. In August 2015, CVR Partners agreed to merge with Rentech Nitrogen. Q2 2018 saw a tender offer whereby new CVR Energy shares were exchanged for CVRR at a valuation of $24.26 per common unit (0.6335 shares of CVI for one CVRR). ~22M new shares were issued.Newell Brands (NWL): NWL is a 4.94% of the portfolio position established in Q1 2018 at a cost-basis of $27.40 per share. The stock is now at $22.14. Q2 2018 saw a ~10% stake increase at prices between $23 and $28 and that was followed with a ~15% increase next quarter at prices between $20.50 and $28. Overall, their cost-basis is ~$25.60. Q1 2020 also saw a ~6% stake increase.Note: In April 2019, rival activist Starboard Value came to an agreement with Carl Icahn whereby they now together control Newell’s board.Bausch Health (BHC) and Dana Inc. (DAN): These two stakes were established in Q4 2020.  The 4.12% of the portfolio BHC position was purchased at prices between ~$15.30 and ~$21 and increased by ~575% last quarter at prices between ~$21.25 and ~$34.40. The stock currently trades at $27.59. The 1.18% DAN stake was established at prices between ~$13.25 and ~$20 and increased by ~200% last quarter at prices between ~$19 and ~$27. The stock currently trades at $22.99.Note: The ownership percentage in Bausch Health is 34.1M shares (9.59% of the business). Two Icahn nominees are on the board.Note 2: Icahn controls ~8% of Dana Inc.Cloudera (CLDR): The 3.42% of the portfolio position in CLDR was purchased in Q3 2019 at a cost-basis of ~$5.41. The stock is currently at $15.98. His ownership interest is just under ~20%. Q2 2020 saw a ~5% trimming.Note: In August 2019, it was announced that Carl Icahn had reached an agreement with management at Cloudera: in exchange to keeping his ownership interest capped at ~20%, he got to nominate two directors to the company’s board.Navistar International (NAV): NAV is ~3% of the 13F portfolio long-term position. The last significant activity follows: ~22% increase in Q2 & Q3 2014 at prices between $29 and $38.Note: Icahn controlled ~17% of the business. In November, Volkswagen’s truck unit TRATON reached and agreement to acquire Navistar for $44.50 cash and that transaction closed on July 1st.FirstEnergy Corp (FE): FE is a 2.91% of the portfolio position purchased last quarter at prices between ~$29.50 and ~$35.60 and the stock currently trades at $36.68.Herc Holdings (HRI): HRI is a small ~2% of the portfolio position established in Q2 2016 as a result of the spinoff of Herc Holdings from Hertz Global Holdings. There was a ~4% stake increase in Q3 2017 at ~$38.50. The stock started trading at ~$33 and currently goes for ~$168.Note: Icahn controls ~16% of the business.Conduent Inc. (CNDT): The small 1.18% portfolio stake came about as a result of Conduent’s spinoff from Xerox that closed in January 2017. Terms called for Xerox shareholders to receive Conduent shares in the ratio 1:5. Icahn owned 99M shares of Xerox for which he received 19.8M shares of Conduent. CNDT started trading at ~$15 and currently goes for $6.87. Q2 2019 saw a ~60% stake increase at around $9 per share. That was followed with a ~20% increase in Q4 2019 at ~$6.50 per share.Note: Their ownership interest in Conduent is at ~18% of the business. Last August, Hunter Gray was appointed to the Board of Directors.Sandridge Energy (SD): SD is a 0.12% of the portfolio activist stake established in Q4 2017 at prices between $16 and $21 and the stock is now well below that range at $12.57.Note: Icahn has a ~13.5% ownership stake in the business. He lobbied the board and succeeded in ending the Bonanza Creek acquisition on December 28, 2017. In June 2018, Icahn gained control of Sandridge’s board by winning a proxy battle.Note: Icahn also owns significant stakes in the following OTC stocks as per latest regulatory filings: ~36M shares (48.6% of business) of Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN) at a cost-basis of ~$2.70, and ~89% of Viskase Companies (VKSC). He is also known to have a position in Fannie/Freddie (FNMA) (FMCC). The Enzon position saw a substantial increase in Q4 2020 as they participated in a rights offering.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Icahn’s 13F stock holdings in Q2 2021:Source: John Vincent. Data constructed from Carl Icahn’s 13F filings for Q1 2021 and Q2 2021.6/10/2021 – Special Dividend & Delek (DK) Stock: $2.40 per share cash & 0.1048 shares of Delek common stock for each share held:5/26/2021 – Bloomberg Interview: Need permanent capital for activism and hedge funds generally don’t have it and that is why activism is reducing. ESG – renewable fuels usage will increase. CVI refineries – transitioning into renewable fuels – refineries not in a bad position – least costly way to build a renewable fuel plant – transitioning parts of a refinery possible – making renewables part of the infrastructure bill is a good idea – should still keep small refineries – we have capital – middle size. XOM revolt – not involved – but in general there are good and bad managements. Activism – where is it going? Economy – is inflation transitory? – we have pumped money and inflation is already here. We have to put on the brakes. CMBX short – absolute power corrupts completely – wealth-gap. Shopping mall short – alliance Bernstein & Putnam form of corruption – selling stuff as though they are treasury but they are much higher risk – 2% return in excess of treasuries to sell insurance on the malls – those bets could loose 40-50%. Crypto – what would it take to invest? – natural manifestation of inflation is looking for other stores of value outside the dollar – reserve currency may eventually be threatened – ETHE payment system and store of value, BTC is store of value. Are ETHE/BTC what you are focusing? – looking at the whole crypto space to get involved in a relatively big way – could be a billon to billion-half dollars on the average.  AMC/GME etc. meme stocks – ridiculous pricing – eventually you can’t have this without excess inflation. Risks – where are they? – RE specifically commercial real-estate. Cap-rates ridiculously low even before COVID. ~$400M stake in All State confirmed – ALL – bought 6 months ago in the 90s – undervalued at that time – 7x earnings. Progressive was 17x EBITDA. So why is 7x? – it is because they need to do some things which they already said they will do – transitioning model – cost-savings – direct-to-consumer – we did nothing but did well – not his idea but one of his guys Andrew Tenow. Hertz – what was learned from selling at bottom? – can’t be right all the time – tough business – congratulate those who held on to debt – we held some but nothing like what we could have. At that time, nobody thought we will come out as well out of covid. Pep Boys etc. working well for us. SPAC – we are not in that at all. Sponsors get the returns – so, where are the customers yachts? – big percentage take can come back to bite you. Some are good. Lot are paying too much for the companies. Economic/Move to Florida/etc. – is Florida RE in a bubble? – could be. Don’t know whether move from NY is permanent. Residential may not be a bubble. NY turned bad and that is why he moved – not taxes. Taxes – infrastructure would be great, but how do you pay without the taxes.Note for all update articles – Get the latest investor presentation and give the link at their website in the Note which has the link and make sure Slide 5 is still the correct one.Regulatory filings from 3/2/2021 to 5/26/2021: 13D/As – 5/19 – TEN – 4.05M shares – 4.94% of business - ~700K shares sold @ ~14, 5/17 - ~980K shares sold @ ~13.90, 5/13 – 965K shares sold @ ~13.40, 5/11 – 947K shares sold @ 13.77, Form 4 – 5/10 - ~2.75M shares disposed at prices between 11.20 and 14.13, 13D/A – 5/10 – 7.64M shares – 9.32% of business, Form 4 – 4/30 – minor, 13D/A – 4/30 – 10.36M shares – 12.64% of business,  Form 4 – 4/26 – TEN - ~220K shares disposed @ ~10.85 – 10.38M shares, 13D/A – 4/26 – 10.38M shares – 12.66% of business, Form 4 & 13D/A – 4/21 - ~135K shares sold at ~10.75 – 10.81M shares – 13.19% of business, Form 4, 13D/A – 4/16 - ~560K shares disposed @ ~10.85 – 10.95M shares – 13.35% of business, Form 4, 13D/A – 4/13 - ~700K shares disposed @ ~10.85 – 11.5M shares - ~14% of business, Form 4, 13D/A – 4/8 – 3.08M shares – 12.21M shares – 14.89% of business, Form 4 – 4/7 - ~250K shares disposed @ 10.82 – 9.13M shares – 11.58% of business, Form 4, 13D/A – 4/2 - ~315K shares disposed @ 10.80 – 9.38M shares – 11.9% of business, 13D/A, Form 4 - ~670K shares disposed @ 10.77 – 9.7M shares. 10.37M shares – 13.14% of business,  3/30 – 9.7M shares – 12.3% of business, etc.  . 13D/A – 5/11 – DK – CVI special dividend related filing – in cash & DK shares, 13D/A – 4/20 – CVI’s Delek proxy related, 13D/A – 4/8 – CVR energy proxy related. Etc. 13D/A – 5/6 – HLF – 0 - ~8M shares sold at prices between 46 and 48. Form 4 – 4/30 – XRX – 2.37M shares acquired @ 20  thru forward contract expiring 2/22/2023 – ~5.40 cost for contracts - 31.14M shares, 13D/A – 4/30 – 31.14M shares – 16.22% of business, Form 4, 13D/A – 3/8 - ~850K shares in forward contracts expiring 2/22/2023 – 31.14M shares – 15.68% of business, 3/2 – 123.5K in forward contracts – 30.30M shares – 15.25% of business. 13D/A – 4/29 – OXY – 77.93M shares – 8.2% of business - ~12.5M shares sold at ~25 price, Form 4, 13D/A – 4/7 – 7M shares disposed @ 25.65 – 73.63M shares, 91.33M shares – 9.61% of business, Form 4, 13D/A – 4/2 – 8M shares disposed @ ~27.5 – 80.63M shares. 99.93M shares – 10.51% of business, . Form 4 – 4/29 – IEP – 7.72M shares acquired @ 57.46 – 229.5M shares total, 13D/A – 4/29 – 229.5M shares – 92.2% of business. 13D/A – 4/21 – WBT – minor amendment. 13D/A – 3/16 – BHC – 34.1M shares – 9.59% of business, 13D/A – 3/11 - same."