RenTech Loaded Up On Mastercard, Nike, More in Q2

The world’s most successful quant hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies (RenTech), recently submitted its 13F filing with the SEC for the reporting period of June 30, revealing a U.S. equity portfolio worth $52.54 billion. Founded by eminent mathematician Jim Simons in 1982, the New York-based hedge fund currently manages regulatory assets worth over $70 billion, a large chunk of which belongs to the fund’s employees and Mr. Simons himself.

According to RenTech’s latest filing, its U.S. equity portfolio consisted of long positions in 3,299 securities at the end of the second quarter and its top-ten holdings accounted for just 8.03% of the value of the fund’s portfolio at that time. The filing also revealed that the fund’s portfolio had a quarterly turnover of 27.07% during the second quarter, and that at the end of the period, RenTech was most heavily invested in the information technology sector, stocks from which amassed 19% of the value of its portfolio. In this article, we will take a look at five companies whose stocks RenTech loaded up on going into the third quarter and will analyze how these companies have been performing of late.

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Southern Gas Co (NYSE:GAS)

– Shares Owned by Renaissance Technologies (as of June 30): 3.28 Million

– Value of Holding (as of June 30): $216.33 Million

Let’s begin with Southern Gas Co (NYSE:GAS), in which RenTech upped its holding by 64% during the second quarter. Formerly known as AGL Resources, the company started trading as Southern Gas Co (NYSE:GAS) following its recent merger with Southern Company. Shares of Southern Gas have been on a consistent uptrend since last August, when Southern Gas announced the aforementioned merger and have appreciated by 3.37% so far in 2016. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, which translates into a respectable annual dividend yield of 3.21%. Other hedge funds covered by us that increased their stake in Southern Gas going into the third quarter included John Orrico‘s Water Island Capital, which boosted its holding by 150% to 2.4 million shares, and Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital, which raised its holding by 10% to 1.76 million shares.

Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD)

– Shares Owned by Renaissance Technologies (as of June 30): 2.05 Million

– Value of Holding (as of June 30): $261.8 Million

Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was a new entrant to Renaissance Technologies’ equity portfolio during the second quarter. Shares of the home improvement retailer have managed to rise by 2% so far in 2016 as they look to post gains for the eighth-straight year. However, some analysts feel that this rally could end abruptly, as its stock seems fully valued at current levels. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) has consistently hiked its quarterly dividend for the past several years and the $0.69 per share quarterly dividend it currently pays represents an annual dividend yield of 2.03%. On August 16, the company reported its second quarter earnings, declaring EPS of $1.97 on revenue of $26.47 billion, which were in-line with analysts’ expectations. Following the earnings release, several analysts increased their price target on the stock, including analysts at RBC Capital Markets, who raised their target price to $155 from $150 n August 17 while keeping their rating on the stock unchanged at ‘Outperform’. Ryan Pedlow‘s Two Creeks Capital Management upped its stake in the company by 22% to almost 2.3 million shares during the second quarter.

We’ll check out RenTech’s three biggest moves during the second quarter on the second page of this article.