Stockpickr: Checking In With T. Boone Pickens

It's time to check in again with well-known takeover artist T. Boone Pickens.

In January, I highlighted a number of Pickens' top positions. He recently submitted a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that details his new holdings, plus some positions he's sold out of. We track all the ins and outs of Pickens' portfolio on his portfolio page on Stockpickr.

Pickens' top position is Suncor(SU Quote), which has taken a beating. It's his biggest holding -- a $120 million position out of $915 million total in stock holdings -- and is down from $77 at the beginning of the year to a little less than $70 now. Suncor, despite its selloff, is owned by a quality roster of funds, including famous value investor Martin Whitman. Whitman's fund has been up an average 19% over the past three years.

It's important to note that Pickens more than made up for the pain caused by Suncor with his second-largest position, Tesoro(TSO Quote), which has gone from $65 to $95 this year. Tesoro refines crude oil and manufactures gas, petroleum coke and asphalt, and the company has certainly benefited from the declining crack spread -- the spread between crude oil and gas prices.

As crude oil has come down in price, the inputs into Tesoro's refining process have become cheaper, even though the price of gas has not moved as much so far this year. The company trades at a phenomenally cheap 4 times cash flows and has a pristine balance sheet.