Dominion Resources, Inc. (D): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D) investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest of late.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of gauges investors can use to watch Mr. Market. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can outperform the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the recent action regarding Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D).

What does the smart money think about Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 8% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, holds the biggest position in Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D). Millennium Management has a $23.8 million call position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is David Harding of Winton Capital Management, with a $19.2 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other peers with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.

As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Stevens Capital Management, managed by Matthew Tewksbury, established the most valuable position in Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D). Stevens Capital Management had 14 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also initiated a $13.9 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new D positions are Thomas M. Fitzgerald’s Longbow Capital Partners and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D). These stocks are PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK), American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NYSE:AEP), The Southern Company (NYSE:SO), and NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE). This group of stocks are in the electric utilities industry and their market caps match D’s market cap.

With the returns shown by our studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE:D) is an important part of this process.

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