Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said Tuesday that he’s having a “decent” year relative to the major stock indexes, despite the latest market turmoil. The chair and CEO of the Omega Family Office said he’s keeping his expectations low as investors are still stuck in a bad environment, thanks to continued inflation and rising interest rates. “The market really isn’t cheap,” he told CNBC’s ” Squawk Box .” “It’s a very strange market, the indices themselves have no destination for me but I find a lot of individual stocks that are attractively priced … but I’m not expecting much in the market.” He highlighted Cigna, Energy Transfer and Lithia Motors as some of his favorites. He also mentioned Canadian gas producer Tourmaline. About 22% of his portfolio is in energy stocks, he said. This is the criteria Cooperman said he uses when looking for individual stocks: A “two-cycle tested” company, one that’s “been through a couple of recessions and didn’t get blown apart” Dividend income Companies that buy back their stock when it’s undervalued “Quality, reliable” management A discount to market valuation Cooperman also said he’s avoiding bonds. Shortly after stocks began selling off at the start of the year, Cooperman told CNBC they still represent “the best game in town” and are “the best asset in a bad neighborhood.” He’s also said 4,800 is likely to be the S & P 500 high “for quite some time” and that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening will tip the U.S. economy into a recession next year. Here’s Cooperman’s full interview from Tuesday:
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