By Anupreeta Das And David Benoit
Major investors made striking bets with their energy holdings in
the fourth quarter amid a collapse in the price of oil.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and George Soros's
Soros Fund Management sold off all their shares in Exxon Mobil
Corp. as of Dec. 31, while hedge-fund manager John Paulson made a
new bet with 70 million shares in Talisman Energy Inc. valued at
$549.1 million.
The disclosures were made Tuesday in a regulatory filing
required of investors who manage more than $100 million.
Oil prices have plunged from north of $100 a barrel in June to
roughly half that level now, the victim of a growing surplus
brought on by booming U.S. production and weaker-than-expected
demand. The volatility in prices has given investors opportunities
to bet on further declines or a sharp rebound.
Berkshire sold about 41 million shares of Exxon, having
initially disclosed its ownership of the stock in the third quarter
of 2013 and adding to it slightly in later quarters. The nearly $4
billion position made Berkshire one of Exxon's largest
shareholders. Exxon, the biggest U.S. oil company, said earlier
this month it was looking for ways to cut costs as profit fell
during the fourth quarter.
The Omaha, Neb., conglomerate also sold off a small position in
ConocoPhillips and cut its stake in National Oilwell Varco Inc., an
oil-and-gas drilling- equipment maker, by about 18%. However, it
increased stakes in two other energy-sector companies, Phillips 66
and Canadian oil-sands company Suncor Energy Inc.
Mr. Paulson, who made his name during the 2008 financial crisis
betting against the housing market, wasn't entirely bullish on
energy. He exited from Athalon Energy and pared back his holdings
in Oasis Petroleum Inc. even as his ownership of Whiting Petroleum
Corp. rose nearly 44% due to its December acquisition of another
company where Mr. Paulson had a 26 million-share stake.
Others who took similar steps away from energy include New York
hedge fund Jana Partners LLC and David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital
Inc., according to filings Tuesday and last Friday.
Greenlight sold out of BP PLC Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and
National Oilwell Varco, while Jana Partners exited from stakes in
oil-and-gas producer Apache Corp. and other companies where it had
been pushing changes. It had called for Apache to sell its
international assets and concentrate on drilling in the U.S.
Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC exited some of its energy holdings
even as it also loaded up on other names.
One of its biggest new positions was in refinery company
Phillips 66. Third Point held five million shares worth about $359
million as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing. And Third
Point also took new positions in Rice Midstream Partners LP and
Cobalt International Energy Inc.
"We are looking to add exposure during market dislocations,"
Third Point said in a letter to investors earlier this month.
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