Kyle Bass (Trades, Portfolio), founder of Dallas, Texas-based hedge fund Hayman Capital Management, has built a reputation for predicting and benefiting from economic events, such as the subprime mortgage crisis and the European sovereign-debt crisis.
In the first quarter of 2015, Bass made 24 new buys, most of them in the oil and gas industry at a time when gas prices were beginning to rebound. Bass didn't touch the two most valuable stakes in his portfolio - NMI Holdings Inc (NMIH) and General Motors Co (GM) - in the first quarter, but new buys filled out the rest of his top 20 holdings, starting with Verso Corp (VRS), a Memphis, Tennessee-based producer of coated papers that are used in commercial printing applications that became Bass' third-most valuable stake. Bass bought 818,670 shares of Verso in the first quarter for an average price of $2.42 per share. The transaction had a 2.35% impact on Bass' portfolio.
Verso has a market cap of $83.4 million and an enterprise value of $2.87 billion. Howard Marks (Trades, Portfolio) has shares of Verso in his portfolio.
Verso's CFO left the company last week to take a similar position with Packaging Corporation of America.
Concho Resources Inc (CXO), a Midland, Texas-based oil and gas exploration and development company, is now Bass' fourth-most valuable stake. Bass bought 6,710 shares for an average price of $108.92 per share. The purchase had a 1.24% impact on Bass' portfolio.
Concho Resources has a market cap of $14.18 billion and an enterprise value of $17.56 billion. It has a P/E of 29.4, a Price/Book of 2.2 and a Price/Sales of 5.5. Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), T Boone Pickens (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Concho Resources in their portfolios.
Bass' fifth-most valuable stake is Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL), a Denver-based oil and gas company. Bass acquired 25,117 shares for an average price of $33.77 per share. The buy had a 1.24% impact on his portfolio.
Whiting Petroleum has a market cap of $6.89 billion and an enterprise value of $12.03 billion. It has a Price/Book of 1.0 and a Price/Sales of 1.5. John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Eric Mindich (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) and T Boone Pickens (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Whiting Petroleum in their portfolios. Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
The sixth-most valuable stake in Bass' portfolio is Bonanza Creek Energy Inc (BCEI), another Denver-based oil and gas company. Bass bought 31,417 shares for an average price of $25.63 per share. That transaction also had a 1.24% impact on his portfolio.
Bonanza Creek Energy has a market cap of $996 million and an enterprise value of $1.73 billion. It has a Price/Book of 1.2 and a Price/Sales of 1.6. John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Bonanza in their portfolios. Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) and Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
Oasis Petroleum Inc (OAS), a Houston, Texas-based oil and gas company, is the seventh-most valuable stake in Bass' portfolio after he bought 54,453 shares for an average price of $14.68 per share. The purchase had a 1.23% impact on Bass' portfolio.
Oasis Petroleum has a market cap of $2.31 billion and an enterprise value of $4.66 billion. It has a P/E of 5.4, a Price/Book of 0.8 and a Price/Sales of 1.4. John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio), Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Arnold Schneider (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Oasis Petroleum in their portfolios. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
The eight-most valuable stake in Bass' portfolio is Sanchez Energy Corp (SN), another Houston-based oil and gas company. Bass acquired 59,218 shares of Sanchez Energy for an average price of $12.21 per share. The transaction had a 1.23% impact on his portfolio.
Sanchez Energy has a market cap of $631 million and an enterprise value of $2.03 billion. It has a Price/Book of 1.2 and a Price/Sales of 0.9. Jim Chanos (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Sanchez Energy in their portfolios. Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) and Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
EOG Resources Inc (EOG), an oil and natural gas exploration and production company based in Houston, became the ninth-most valuable stake in Bass' portfolio when he acquired 8,374 shares for an average price of $90.36 per share. The deal had a 1.22% impact on Bass' portfolio.
EOG Resources has a market cap of $48.72 billion and an enterprise value of $53.49 billion. It has a P/E of 23.4, a Price/Book of 2.8 and a Price/Sales of 3.0. PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc, Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Stanley Druckenmiller (Trades, Portfolio), Westport Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio), Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio), Signature Select Canadian, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) and T Boone Pickens (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of EOG in their portfolios.
The tenth-most valuable stake in Bass' portfolio is Continental Resources Inc (CLR), a petroleum liquids producer from Oklahoma City. Bass bought 17,513 shares for an average price of $42.53 per share. The acquisition had a 1.22% impact on his portfolio.
Continental Resources has a market cap of $17.17 billion and an enterprise value of $23.91 billion. It has a P/E of 27.6, a Price/Book of 3.5 and a Price/Sales of 3.8. Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc, Michael Price (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) and John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Continental Resources in their portfolios. George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
Bass' other new buys in the first quarter were Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC), Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD), Penn Virginia Corp (PVA), Matador Resources Co (MTDR), Newfield Exploration Co (NFX), PDC Energy Inc (PDCE), Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc (CRZO), Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG), SM Energy Co (SM), RPC Inc (RES), US Silica Holdings Inc (SLCA), Nabors Industries Ltd (NBR), Halliburton Co (HAL), Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP), Patterson-UTI Energy Inc (PTEN) and Superior Energy Services Inc (SPN).
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