ADVERTISEMENT

Ray Dalio Boosts U.S. Steel and Nucor Holdings, While Cutting Cliffs

Ray Dalio Boosts U.S. Steel and Nucor Holdings, While Cutting Cliffs

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio went in big for U.S. Steel Corp. last quarter, more than doubling his holdings in the metal producer.

As of the end of September, Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates owned 1.09 million shares of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, an increase of almost 586,000, a regulatory filing showed Tuesday. That was the fourth-biggest position increase in his portfolio.

The purchases come even as shares of many American steel and aluminum makers have foundered this year amid concern that rising trade frictions are eroding the outlook for economic growth and metal demand. U.S. Steel shares have dropped 23 percent in 2018. At the same time, a solid third quarter and the board’s authorization to buy back $300 million in stock in the next two years have helped the metal post a gain this month.

Bridgewater also increased its holdings in Nucor Corp., the biggest American steelmaker. The fund reduced its stake in metal companies including Reliance Steel and Aluminum Co., and iron ore producers Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Vale SA’s American depositary receipts.

Filings released this month don’t include hedge funds’ current position, which may have changed since the end of the quarter. Money managers who oversee more than $100 million in the U.S. must file a Form 13F within 45 days of each quarter’s end to list those stocks as well as options and convertible bonds. The filings don’t show non-U.S. securities, holdings that aren’t publicly traded, or cash.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joe Richter in New York at jrichter1@bloomberg.net;Joe Deaux in New York at jdeaux@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Luzi Ann Javier at ljavier@bloomberg.net, Joe Richter, Steven Frank

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.