Soros Fund Management of billionaire philanthropist George Soros has dumped all of its shares in supermajor Chevron, Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy and Texas-based NRG Energy.
The fund exited all three in full last quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal, and traded up to Baker Hughes and Kinder Morgan.
In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Soros fund acquired 685,157 shares in Baker Hughes Inc and 50,700 shares in Kinder Morgan, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The news comes at a time when Chesapeake is struggling, warding off rumors of a potential bankruptcy filing and dealing with a suspension in late January of dividend payments on its outstanding convertible preferred stock.
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The second-largest U.S. natural gas producer has seen its stock slide from nearly $20 per share in early 2015 to under $2 a share today.
Soros is the second major investor to up the ante in Kinder Morgan recently.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, through his Nebraska-based company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), recently acquired a $400 million stake in struggling pipeline company, Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI).
According to a Berkshire Hathaway U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the 26.53 million shares of Kinder Morgan are valued at $395.8 million.
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Buffett's Kinder Morgan purchase came shortly after its stock price fell 53 percent in the fourth quarter and 63 percent in the last 12 months, closing the year at $14.92 per share.
But while Buffet is still keen on oil, having recently picked up more shares in Phillips66, Soros and T. Boone Pickens, who have now exited oil and gas, are likely to cause more market panic.
By James Burgess of Oilprice.com
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James Burgess studied Business Management at the University of Nottingham. He has worked in property development, chartered surveying, marketing, law, and accounts. He has also… More
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