Chanos Raises His Stake in Kroger

Hedge fund manager invests in Toyota, Electronic Arts in second quarter

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Sep 28, 2015
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Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos (Trades, Portfolio) has a reputation for being bearish on China, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t bullish in other places, particularly the United States, as he demonstrated in the second quarter.

Chanos added to 14 stakes in his portfolio in the second quarter. His largest add was his purchase of 139,771 shares of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (ACWI, Financial) for an average price of $61.07. The deal had a 3.65% impact on Chanos’ portfolio.

Chanos is the Fund’s leading shareholder among the gurus. Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund in their portfolios.

Chanos acquired 132,882 shares of The Kroger Co. (KR, Financial), a Cincinnati-based supermarket chain and the sixth-most valuable holding in Chanos’ possession, for an average price of $36.38 per share. The purchase had a 3.04% impact on his portfolio.

Kroger has a market cap of $35.15 billion and an enterprise value of $44.53 billion. It has a P/E of 18.5, a P/B of 5.9 and a P/S of 0.3. Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) and Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Kroger in their portfolios.

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Chanos bought nine new stakes in the second quarter, the most valuable being Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, Financial), the world’s largest automobile manufacturer. Chanos purchased a 58,211-share stake for an average price of $137.88 per share. The deal had a 3.42% impact on his portfolio and made Toyota the ninth-most valuable Chanos has.

Toyota has a market cap of $186.49 billion and an enterprise value of $307.96 billion. It has a P/E of 10.2, a P/B of 1.3 and a P/S of 0.8. Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Donald Smith (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio) and Dodge & Cox have shares of Toyota in their portfolios.

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Chanos purchased a 101,120-share stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (EA, Financial), a Redwood City, Calif.-based video game developer, for an average price of $61.45 per share. The transaction had a 2.95% impact on Chanos’ portfolio.

Electronic Arts has a market cap of $21.66 billion and an enterprise value of $19.42 billion. It has a P/E of 23.5, a P/B of 6.6 and a P/S of 5.1. Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc., PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Electronic Arts in their portfolios.

03May20170940241493822424.pngChanos sold his 334,760-share stake in DBX ETF Trust (DBEM, Financial) for an average price of $22.37 per share. The sale had a -4.59% impact on Chanos’ portfolio and was the guru’s largest sale of the quarter. ETF, options, preferred is the most heavily weighted sector in Chanos’ portfolio.

Chanos also sold his 67,788-share stake in McDonald's Corp. (MCD, Financial), the Oak Brook, Ill.-based fast food chain, for an average price of $96.73 per share. The transaction had a -3.1% impact on Chanos’ portfolio.

McDonald’s has a market cap of $91.91 billion and an enterprise value of $105.81 billion. It has a P/E of 22.6, a P/B of 8.9 and a P/S of 3.6.

Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), HOTCHKIS & WILEY, RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc., Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio), Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio), First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of McDonald’s in their portfolios.

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Chanos reduced 10 of his existing stakes in the second quarter. The top reduction was his sale of 33% of his stake in SunEdison Inc. (SUNE, Financial), a renewable energy company with offices in Maryland Heights, Mo., and Belmont, Calif. Chanos sold 106,812 shares for an average price of $28.41 per share. The transaction had a -1.2% impact on his portfolio.

SunEdison has a market cap of $2.68 billion and an enterprise value of $14.74 billion. It has a P/B of 4.2 and a P/S of 1.0.

David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio), Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio), Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio), Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio), Alan Fournier (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) and Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of SunEdison in their portfolios.

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