Top Billionaire Stocks Stay on the Upswing in June
Billionaire hedge fund managers again proved their ability to beat the market and pinpoint high-performance stocks in June. Their top investment picks, as tracked by the iBillionaire Index, performed +2.53% during the sixth month of the year, beating out the S&P 500’s +1.90% climb.
It’s worth noting this is the second consecutive month the iBillionaire Index (NYSE:BILLION) has hit it out of the park, as it beat out the S&P by an even wider margin in May.
MU, HAL Keep Investors Happy — DG, APC Keep Them Guessing
Nearly two-thirds of the 30 constituents of the iBillionaire Index were in the green last month — an indication that billionaire investors are on the right track with their stock selections.
A handful of companies performed especially well.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) climbed an impressive +15.25%. The semiconductor device and chip maker impressed with its fiscal third quarter results on the 23rd and has caught the attention of investors small and large, including television icon Regis Philbin. Its price climbed +51.49% during the first six months of the year, keeping backers like Seth Klarman and David Einhorn happy.
Also putting in an impressive June performance is Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), up +9.84%. The oil company joined the iBillionaire Index as of its most recent May rebalance and is in the investment portfolios of a number of billionaires, including David Tepper, Leon Cooperman and George Soros. Halliburton shares have returned nearly +40% this year, and analyst sentiment remains positive.
Another energy company, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), impressed last month as well. Its share price rose +8.22%. On the 9th, Chesapeake announced that its board of directors had approved the spinoff of its oilfield services business into a stand-alone company called Seventy Seven Energy.
Dollar General (NYSE:DG), up +6.66%, and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC), +6.42%, posted strong numbers in June, too. Moving forward, both stories may prove especially interesting to watch. At the end of the month, Dollar General CEO Rick Drelling revealed plans to retire next year — a move that could complicate Carl Icahn push for a merger with Family Dollar. And Anadarko excited investors in early June with chatter of a potential takeover.
Billionaires in the News
Billionaire stock picks weren’t the only things worth paying attention to in June — the billionaires themselves, as per usual, proved quite the intriguing characters as well. In case you missed it, here are five pieces of news you don’t want to have missed:
- Inside the Mind of Fairholme Capital’s Bruce Berkowitz. Berkowitz explains why sticking to investment convictions is crucial, even when everyone else is running in the opposite direction. “With the type of value investing I do, you look very wrong until you’re right,” he asserts.
- 3 Things You Can’t Say In Your Hedge Fund Interview. In an interview with OnWire, Richard Chilton offers some valuable tips on working at — and getting hired by — a hedge fund. One no-no statement: “I played individual sports in college.”
- Soros Dabbles in Shareholder Activism. Is George Soros turning activist? That’s the question posed by the New York Times following the billionaire’s Penn Virginia letter pushing the company to sell.
- Tiger’s Julian Robertson is a Big Fan of Google & Uber. Julian Robertson stopped by Closing Bell to discuss two companies he’s a fan of — Google and Uber. He was especially emphatic about the former. “It’s the fact that the company has a moat around it, that is so wide, no one can breach it,” he said. “And I think it is developing new devices all the time. People aren’t aware exactly where it will stop.”
- Carl Icahn Has Family Dollar Stores In His Crosshairs, Demands Immediate Sale. Icahn is pushing for the dollar giant to sell, even taking to Twitter to make his voice heard.
Learn more about the iBillionaire Index and all of the billionaires we follow at www.iBillionaire.me.
