George Soros Increases Bet Against S&P, Buys New Stocks

Author's Avatar
Aug 15, 2014
Article's Main Image

George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), famous for accurately predicting the directions of markets, has made an attention-grabbing move – increasing his short position in the S&P 500 in the second quarter.

Soros began the position in the first quarter of 2014 at his investment firm, Soros Fund Management. In the second quarter, he lifted the position to 11,290,500 put options on the S&P 500 ETF (SPY, Financial), which at16.7% of his long portfolio is his largest holding.

03May20171406531493838413.png

In addition to the notable market short, Soros’ fund bought 182 new stocks in the second quarter, according to his 13F filing released on Thursday.

Largest New Buys

Consol Energy Inc. (CNX, Financial)

Soros’ largest new buy was Consol Energy Inc. (CNX, Financial), of which he bought 5,088,283 shares, for a 1.8% portfolio weight. The stock’s average second quarter price was $44.

03May20171406531493838413.png

Consol Energy Inc. was incorporated in Delaware. The Company is a multi-fuel energy producer and energy services provider that mainly serves the electric power generation industry in the United States. Consol Energy Inc. has a market cap of $9.12 billion; its shares were traded at around $39.61 with a P/E ratio of 12.30 and P/S ratio of 2.60. The dividend yield of Consol Energy Inc. stocks is 0.80%. Consol Energy Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 4.60% over the past 10 years.

Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT, Financial)

Soros bought 1,787,306 Level 3 Communications shares, for 0.59% of the portfolio. The stock’s price averaged $42 for the quarter.

03May20171406541493838414.png

Level 3 Communications Inc. is a Delaware corporation, incorporated in 1941 as Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc. Level 3 Communications Inc. has a market cap of $10.02 billion; its shares were traded at around $42.06 with a P/E ratio of 64.20 and P/S ratio of 1.50.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC, Financial)

Soros purchased 442,393 shares of Time Warner Cable Inc., for 0.49% of the portfolio. The stock’s second quarter price averaged $140.

03May20171406541493838414.png

Time Warner Cable Inc. was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 21, 2003. Time Warner Cable Inc. has a market cap of $41.42 billion; its shares were traded at around $148.19 with a P/E ratio of 20.40 and P/S ratio of 1.90. The dividend yield of Time Warner Cable Inc. stocks is 1.90%. Time Warner Cable Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 12.20% over the past five years.

New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc. (EDU, Financial)

Soros purchased 2,409,000 shares of New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc., for 0.48% of the portfolio. The stock’s share price averaged $26 for the second quarter.

03May20171406551493838415.png

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. commenced operations in China in 1993. New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. has a market cap of $3.34 billion; its shares were traded at around $21.33 with a P/E ratio of 16.30 and P/S ratio of 3.10. New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 33.10% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. the business predictability rank of 4-star.

See more of Soros’ stocks in his portfolio. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days here.